Vaishnaw, Thakur take charge of Railways, I&B ministry

Bureaucrat-entrepreneur-turned-politician Ashwini Vaishnaw took charge as the country's new railway minister on Thursday.

Whereas, Anurag Thakur took charge as the Minister of Information and Broadcasting.

A former Indian Administrative Service officer of the 1994-batch, Vaishnaw has handled important responsibilities for over 15 years and was particularly known for his contribution to the public-private partnership (PPP) framework in infrastructure, something that will help him in the rail sector.

He has also held leadership roles across major global companies such as General Electric and Siemens.

Vaishnaw has done his MBA from the Wharton School, Pennsylvania University, and MTech from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

He will also hold two other important portfolios of Communications and Electronics and Information Technology.

"Excellent work has been done in the Railways over the past 67 years. I am here to take the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi forward," Vaishnaw said while he took the charge. 

Speaking to reporters after assuming charge, Thakur said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done a great job in reaching out to people in the last seven years through this ministry, and that he would like to take the legacy forward.

Thakur said he would like to reach out to people through the ministry.

"I will make every possible effort to carry out the responsibility bestowed upon me by the prime minister," he said.