News Digest

Indian PM Modi set for first cabinet reshuffle

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on Sunday expected to carry out the first major reshuffle of his cabinet since storming to power in May, with the key defence portfolio likely to go to a new minister. Manohar Parrikar, a sauve regional leader of Modi’s right-wing Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), is tipped to take over as defence minister after resigning Saturday as chief minister of the resort coastal state of Goa. Parrikar’s likely appointment would ease the burden on Arun Jaitley, who has been juggling both the defence and finance ministries while battling ill-health. Some ministers have reportedly felt overwhelmed by their workload.

[Arun] Jaitley, for example, was given two key portfolios — each of which required a full-time minister. Modi was trying to experiment with the idea of having very few ministers.

K.G. Suresh, a senior fellow with the Delhi-based Vivekanand International Foundation think-tank

Modi was due to hold a breakfast for the newcomers with the swearing-in slated for early afternoon at New Delhi’s Rashtrapati Bhavan presidential palace, Indian media reported. Several new faces could be brought in, while some junior ministers could be elevated to full cabinet rank. The expected reshuffle follows last month’s big BJP gains in elections in the key states of Maharashtra and Haryana, which were viewed as another sign that Modi is still enjoying a honeymoon period. Modi wants a strong ministerial team in place ahead of parliament’s winter session, which begins on November 22.