The members of the cabinet committees included Union ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its National Democratic Alliance partners like Janata Dal-United, Telugu Desam Party, Janata Dal-Secular, Shiv Sena and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas.
Union ministers Virendra Kumar, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Singh Thakur have been included in the rejigged Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, according to a notification issued by the Cabinet Secretariate last night.
In the second major decision to end the UPA government's legacy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday scrapped four cabinet committees, including one on Unique Identification Authority, as part of his efforts to minimise decision-making processes.
After her elevation as defence minister, Sitharaman has become a member of the cabinet committee on security headed by the prime minister.
Among the panels announced on Thursday is the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) to be headed by the prime minister with Shah as the other member.
The change came amid reports that the presence of Amit Shah, who was made home minister in the second Narendra Modi dispensation after Singh held the charge in the first between 2014-19, in all eight committees had highlighted his position as the second most powerful person in the new government.
The cabinet normally meets on every Wednesday and the reasons for convening a meeting on Monday has not been disclosed by the government yet.
Nagaland Governor Ajay Kumar Bhalla announced the state government's plans to form an interim council for the Frontier Nagaland Territorial Authority (FNTA) and highlighted key achievements and future priorities across various sectors during the Budget Session.
The Registrar General and Census Commissioner of India, Mritunjay Kumar Narayan, has reassured the public that individual data collected during the upcoming census will remain confidential and cannot be used for any purpose other than statistical aggregation.
Strongly condemning the 'dastardly' terror attacks in Mumbai which claimed at least 100 lives, the Union Cabinet on Thursday took stock of the situation and reviewed the security scenario in the country.
The Text of the 123 Agreement was approved in a joint meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and the Cabinet Committee on Security.
The cabinet of the new government led by Rekha Gupta balances representation of all major communities that propelled the Bharatiya Janata Party to power in Delhi with a massive majority after over 26 years.
Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya is facing criticism for his crass comments regarding the water crisis in Indore. This is the latest in a series of controversial remarks made by the veteran politician.
'The AMs are a different beast and reflect the political play within the government.' 'Prime Minister Modi does not need to assuage any interest group to take the final call on any decision that belongs rightfully to the Cabinet,' points out Subhomoy Bhattacharjee.
The census will be carried out with a reference date of October 1, 2026 in snow-bound areas like Ladakh and March 1, 2027 in the rest of the country, the notification said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday directed officials to ensure safe evacuation of all Indian citizens from Afghanistan and to provide refuge to Sikhs and Hindus wanting to come to India from there, as he chaired a crucial high-level meeting in the backdrop of the Taliban takeover of the war-torn country, sources said.
The CDS will be a four-star general and his salary will be equivalent to that of service chiefs.
Being made a member of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs makes her an important player in BJP politics, observes Rashme Sehgal.
India will launch an all out effort to isolate Pakistan and all diplomatic efforts will be launched in this regard
The government cleared the proposal despite opposition from the petroleum ministry, which says this is not the right time for divestment as the sector is moving from trade parity to export parity pricing.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting with National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar upon his arrival from Saudi Arabia to take stock of the situation following the terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir. The meeting also included Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri. The attack, which killed at least 26 people, including tourists from the UAE and Nepal, has sparked nationwide shock and outrage.
The defence minister has to correct a major asymmetry. Will his discipline come in the way?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's sudden resignation after only a year in office has thrown Japan into political turmoil, raising doubts about how the country will handle economic and regional challenges, observes Dr Rajaram Panda.
The chief adviser's decision to stay in office came two days after he told student-led National Citizen Party (NCP) leaders that he was mulling resignation as he felt "the situation is such that he cannot work", citing difficulties in working amid the failure of political parties to find common ground for change.
Implementation of sports bill in 6 months, regulation of participation standard safeguard: Mandaviya
'If the BJP seriously addresses employment, examination integrity and systemic corruption, they might salvage their position. Otherwise, they are heading toward serious trouble in 2027.'
The MHA has also sought an immediate report from the state government besides asking it to fix responsibility and take strict action against those responsible.
The prime minister's office will play the principal role in decision-making.
Eighteen distinct amendments to the Constitution and other statutes would be required for the implementation of the Kovind committee's recommendations on simultaneous elections, according to the panel's report accepted by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
Terrorism and insurgency in J&K had subsided when India demolished East Pakistan -- for the simple reason that Pakistan understands power. We need to follow Chanakya's dictum of Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed for strategising against Pakistan, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd). The ground truth is that unless we are prepared to acknowledge our shortcomings, including massive intelligence failures, punish those responsible and take corrective actions, we will continue in the same vein, asserts Lieutenant General Prakash Katoch (Retd).
Telangana Rashtriya Samithi chief K Chandrasekara Rao is on his way to Delhi, where he will reportedly meet the Congress top brass and urge them to pass a bill approving the creation of Telangana as soon as possible.
He is among several leaders of Indian heritage who have ascended to the highest echelon of public service globally.
Experts of the NSG and investigators of the NIA are being sent to Jammu and Kashmir to join the probe into the terror attack.
The government has given up plans to reconvene a parliament session to secure approval for a common goods and services tax.
Incoming US President Donald Trump has assembled a core team that is -- not surprisingly -- overwhelmingly white and male.
Almost five years later, the three services have still not fully understood that joint/theatre commands are not a discussion point; they are the prime minister's diktat on a military reform measure that is in line with what armed forces around the world have implemented, points out Ajai Shukla.
'In the present era of strategic uncertainty and rapidly changing threats, no military professional now disputes the unavoidable necessity of a joint planning staff for the planning and conduct of joint operations so that integrated operations can be planned 'top down',' says Brigadier Gurmeet Kanwal (retd).
With general elections on the horizon, the government's privatisation bandwagon has almost but stalled as a government wary of being accused of selling family silver opts for minority stake sales on stock exchanges over outright privatisation. The result -- the divestment target for current fiscal year is again likely to be missed. Big ticket privatisation plans such as that of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL), Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and CONCOR are already on the backburner and analysts feel meaningful privatisation can happen only after April/May general elections.
Nirmala Sitharaman's elevation not only to full Cabinet minister but also pitchforking her to the elite Cabinet Committee on Security group with the defence portfolio is undoubtedly the biggest takeaway from Sunday's reshuffle, says Rajeev Sharma.
'If Pakistan's army wants to escalate violence in Kashmir, they have an unlimited supply of jihadis they can train and send. That's not an issue for them.'
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances