Modi 3.0 team a “great blend of youth and experience”: PM after oath

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the team of ministers for his third term as a “great blend of youth and experience” after taking oath on Sunday night along with 72 ministers who comprise his new coalition government. Taking to the social media platform X, he added that he would be working with his Council of Ministers “to take India to new heights of progress”.

“Took oath as Prime Minister at the ceremony earlier this evening. I look forward to serving 140 crore Indians and working with the Council of Ministers to take India to new heights of progress,” PM Modi posted on X.

“Congratulations to all those who have taken oath today. This team of Ministers is a great blend of youth and experience, and we will leave no stone unturned in improving the lives of people,” he added on the social media platform.

“I am grateful to all the foreign dignitaries who joined the swearing in ceremony. India will always work closely with our valued partners in pursuit of human progress,” PM Modi further wrote on X.

He is the only other Prime Minister in India’s history after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected to the office for a third consecutive term.

President Droupadi Murmu administered oath to PM Modi and his 72 ministers on Sunday evening at the lawns of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Of the 72 ministers sworn in, 30 are Cabinet Ministers, five hold independent charge and 36 are Ministers of State. Portfolios for ministers are yet to be announced at the time of publishing.

Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Piyush Goyal are among the senior ministers who took oath at the ceremony, following PM Modi. The Prime Minister’s first meeting with his Cabinet ministers is likely to happen on Monday at his residence in Lok Kalyan Marg, New Delhi.

Esteemed guests at the ceremony included leaders of India’s neighbouring countries such as Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 293 seats to cross the majority mark of 273 in the Lok Sabha 2024 elections at the end of counting on June 4. PM Modi’s party, The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the alliance, managed to win 240 seats on its own.