Anurag Singh Thakur is new I&B Minister; Ashwini Vaishnaw takes charge of IT Ministry

The Modi Government undertook its first major Cabinet reshuffle after taking charge for a second term in 2019. The new roster includes 30 Cabinet-rank ministers, two Ministers of State with Independent Charge, and 45 Ministers of State.

Anurag Singh Thakur has been sworn in as the new Minister for Information and Broadcasting. He takes charge from Prakash Javadekar, who tendered his resignation ahead of the Cabinet rejig. Prior to this, Thakur was serving as Minister of State in the Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs. 46-year old Thakur is an MP from Himachal Pradesh and represents the Hamirpur Lok Sabha constituency.

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Along with I&B, Thakur will also take charge of Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. This portfolio was previously handled by Kiren Rijiju, who is now Minister of Law and Justice, replacing Ravi Shankar Prasad.

On his new appointment, Thakur tweeted, “I am honoured to serve the people of India as a Union Cabinet Minister and take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to Prime Minister Sh @narendramodi ji for entrusting me with this responsibility.”

Meanwhile, Ashwini Vaishnaw has been given the charge of Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Ministry of Railways. Vaishnaw replaces Ravi Shankar Prasad as the IT Minister after Prasad’s resignation, which surprised many. Prasad had been at the helm of the formulation of the new IT Rules 2021, which saw the Government at loggerheads with several social media and Internet giants.

Vaishnaw is a former IAS officer and had done his M.Tech from IIT Kanpur and also has an MBA degree from Wharton School. He is also a BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha.