In a marked shift of the style of governance, the ministers of state (MoS) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s council of ministers are being seen as a bustling and energetic lot.
Contrary to the constant grudge of the junior ministers of the UPA government of not having enough work, PM Modi’s young brigade appears rather clued into major policy decisions, while several of them are known to have direct line of communication with him.
Recurring complaints of junior ministers in the UPA government had been that their cabinet ministers had kept them starved of work.
The governance culture appears to have been radically transformed, as some junior ministers are emerging as the public face of the NDA government. All important files in the ministry of home affairs, for example, are being said to be routed through the junior minister Kiren Rijiju.
Rao Inderjit Singh, the junior minister in the ministry of defense, has a huge spread on his plate — from the departments of the border roads organization to Sainik Schools and the National Cadet Corps. He is kept in the loop to important decisions regarding military deals.
Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha is seen alongside his cabinet minister at all important functions. He also supervises activities to all the nine PSUs of the Indian railways.
{{/usCountry}}Minister of state for railways Manoj Sinha is seen alongside his cabinet minister at all important functions. He also supervises activities to all the nine PSUs of the Indian railways.
{{/usCountry}}Unlike the situation in the previous UPA government, the external affairs ministry has just one MoS in the external affairs ministry. Minister of state General V K Singh handles handles East Europe, Africa and Latin America. He also represents the country on key foreign assignments.
The two ministers of state for parliamentary affairs — Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Rajiv Pratap Rudy — are also among the busiest people.