Zee Media Bureau/Deepak Nagpal
New Delhi: India`s new prime minister, Narendra Modi, is cutting down on the number of ministers he will have in his Cabinet.
Modi, who takes oath as the PM later today at 6 pm, in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, and takes over the reins of the country from Manmohan Singh, took to Twitter Sunday night and said:
Keeping our commitment to 'Minimum Government, Maximum Governance' we have made an unprecedented & positive change in Ministry formation.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014
Various Assembled Ministries will be transformed into Organic Ministries for quicker pace of work & better coordination between departments.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014
This is a step towards Smart Governance & will give us added strength to fulfil aspirations of the people http://t.co/4FRuKRF9Y1
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 25, 2014
Apart from Modi announcing the move on Twitter, his office also released a statement last night stating that the PM-elect has "adopted (the) guiding principle of `minimum government and maximum governance` and also rationalization with a commitment to bring a change in the work culture and style of governance."
"The focus is on convergence in the activities of various ministries where one Cabinet minister will be heading a cluster of ministries who are working in complimentary sectors. Mr Modi is eventually aiming at Smart Governance where the top layers of Government will be downsized and there would be expansion at the grass root level," the statement added.
The statement described Modi`s move as a "good beginning" aimed at "more coordination between different departments" and bringing "a speed in process".
"In the ministry formation, the process of development will be more inclusive than it has been," it said further.
Modi is likely to, as per reports, merge several ministries like transport, which involves surface transport, shipping, metro and bullet trains. Some reports even claimed that Railways and Civil Aviation could also be merged with the transport portfolio.
Similarly, the Ministry for Overseas Indians could come under the External Affairs Ministry, Panchayati Raj could be merged with Rural Development, and Social Justice with Tribal Affairs.
