Narendra Modi, team start on second innings

New Delhi Narendra Modi took over as the countrys Prime Minister for a second term on Thursday after he was sworn in along with Union ministers including BJP president Amit Shah Rajnath Singh Nitin Gadkari and former foreign secretary S Jaishankar a surprise pickModi 68 was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind at a glittering ceremony at the forecourt of majestic Rashtrapati Bhavan Top Opposition leaders including former prime minister Manmohan Singh Congress chief Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi South Asian leaders and Bollywood stars were part of thenearly 8000 guests at the ceremonyNewly swornin Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet ministers after being administered an oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on ThursdayBesides 25 Cabinet ministers including Modi Shah Rajnath Singh Nirmala Sitharaman Nitin Gadkari Smriti Irani Piyush Goyal and Jaishankar nine were sworn in as Minister of State with Independent charge and another 24 as Minister of StateThe new team of ministers is a blend of youthful energy and administrative experience Modi said after taking oath as the PM Shah who is set to combine his astute political mind with his delivery skills to help his mentor Modi implement his governance agenda in the next five years called the swearingin ceremony a historic moment for IndiaAmit Shah PicAFP Right Narendra Modi PicPTISmriti Irani who earned the tag of giant killer for defeating Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in his home turf in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh was among the six women ministersA seasoned diplomat Jaishankar was the Indian governments pointsman for China and the USSon of late K Subrahmanyam one of Indias leading strategic analysts Jaishankar was a key member of the Indian team which negotiated the landmark IndoUS nuclear deal Jaishankar retired from the Indian Foreign ServiceIFS only last year to join Tata TrustsIn a grand ceremony heads of state and government chief ministers India Inc honchos opposition leaders BJP members and showbiz stars rubbed shoulders as they watched President Kovind administer the oath of officeWith Modi pledging sabka saath sabka vikas and sabka vishwas mantra Naqvi the Cabinets lone Muslim face will have the responsibility of winning the hearts of minorities and taking forward the development without appeasement policy Shah also congratulated all the new ministers and said all should work hard to take forward the pledge of creating a strong and prosperous New India under ModiNitin GadkariMaharashtra in the Modi CabinetThe second term of Modi government saw the entry of two new faces from Maharashtra Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant took oath as the Cabinet minister while BJPs Sanjay Dhotre was swornin as a junior minister The state leaders who have been retained are Cabinet ministers Nitin Gadkari Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar mdash all from the BJP Ramdas Athawale of Republican Party of India A BJPs Raosaheb Danve were also swornin as Cabinet ministers for a second term Danve was the a junior minister in the first cabinet but had quit later to head state BJPNitishs JDU opts out of Modi CabinetBJP ally JDU did not join the new Modi government its spokesperson Pavan Varma said ahead of the swearingin ceremony on Thursday in what appears to be a sign of differences with the saffron party over the number of ministerial berths offered to it We are not joining the government This is our decision Varma said24No of Cabinet ministers33No of junior ministers8000No of guests at the ceremonyCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates