New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday rewarded four proficient ministers of his union council with Cabinet ranks for their exceptional work.


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Their contributions in the respective ministries said to have exceeded the expectation of the man at the helm, hence duly rewarded.


Dharmendra Pradhan, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi were among the 12 MoS with independent charge.


All four were elevated today.


Pradhan has been made the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Goyal becomes Railways Minister, Sitharaman gets Defence and Naqvi becomes Minister of Minority Affairs.  


Here is a look at why the government and the party were so impressed with their performance:


Dharmendra Pradhan:


He has been lauded for two flagship projects of the petroleum ministry - PAHAL and the Ujjwala schemes - both played a key role in changing the lives of the poor. PAHAL found an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records for being the largest cash transfer programme.


All eligible LPG consumers under the scheme received subsidy directly into their bank accounts. About 12.57 crore households said to have received cash transfer as of June 30, 2015, It was the world's largest cash transfer program. Likewise, Ujjwala scheme gave smokeless stoves to the poor and the rural households, significantly changing their lives, particularly women. BJP's historic election win in Uttar Pradesh is said to be largely due to the Ujjwala scheme.


Piyush Goyal:


He has been credited for implementing major power and coal sector reforms. Goyal was instrumental in the record electrification of the rural areas. As many as 13,685 villages said to have been electrified till June 20, 2017.


Citing the state-run Rural Electrification Corporation, India Today reported that the remaining 4,141 villages are to be electrified by 2018. He was lauded for the successful implementation of the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana which is aimed at bringing overall socio-economic development to the rural areas. In 2015, PM Modi had pledged to electrify all 18,452 un-electrified villages within 1,000 days. Thereafter, the power ministry had taken up village electrification on a mission mode.


More than 25.01 crore LED bulbs have been distributed under the scheme, while 26.90 lakh LED street lights have been installed in 25 States/UTs.


Nirmala Sitharaman:


She won the confidence of PM Modi and Amit Shah in handling the commerce ministry. Sitharaman, who is also a BJP spokesperson, is said to have performed exceptionally in trade negotiations. She held trade talks with her counterparts and also held discussions over Doklam.


Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi:


Naqvi, the government's most prominent Muslim face, has been a competent parliamentary affairs minister with the additional charge of minority affairs. He has been an eloquent speaker and competently thwarted the opposition attacks on the government and the party.