India Today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, true to form, has hit the ground running with his new 72-member cabinet. Nine alliance partners, out of the 24 who were part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), find a place. Even though the mandate he had hoped f

CHAIRMAN AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Aroon Purie VICE CHAIRPERSON AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Kalli Purie GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Dinesh Bhatia GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Raj Chengappa CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Manoj Sharma GROUP CREATIVE EDITOR: Ni

Four militant attacks—apparently directed from across the border—since June 9 in the usually ‘peaceful’ Jammu sector have taken India’s security establishment by surprise. Here’s why Pakistan has suddenly turned up the heat on India ↘ Provoke India:

The Shiv Sena’s choice of Prataprao Jadhav as their man in the Union cabinet surprised many. Granted, the four-time MP from Buldhana was the seniormost candidate, but speculation was that Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde’s son and former Union minister S

Now that the general election is over, Telangana CM A. Revanth Reddy has his task cut out—fill the six slots left in his six-month-old cabinet. The number of claimants has gone up since, with some communities not represented, as have requests for spe

The induction of first-time Rajya Sabha MP from Assam Pabitra Mar gherita in the Union cabinet is reportedly the BJP’s attempt to counter the growing clout of Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi. Both are from the Ahom community, which plays a crucial role

Independent candidate Umesh Patel’s victory over three-time BJP MP Lalu Patel in Daman & Diu came as a surprise to many. Umesh, a local, is associated with the NGO Daman Youth Action Force (DYAF), and also runs a school. He emerged as a leader in 201

The Union government can accommodate 81 ministers; 72 slots have been filled Initial strength 46 (24) Post expansion 76 (27) Initial strength 58 (25) Post expansion 78 (25) Initial strength 72 (31) No. of cabinet ministers in () The first Modi cabine

Minister of Cooperation KRISHAN PAL, 67 | BJP Three-time Faridabad MP MURLIDHAR MOHOL, 49 | BJP MP from Pune; also MoS in civil aviation ministry Launched in 2023-24, the project involves computerising 63,000 functional PACS and large area multipurpo

Minister of Electronics & IT (MeitY) JITIN PRASADA, 50 | BJP Elected from Pilibhit, UP; also MoS, Commerce & Industry Since Ashwini Vaishnaw has retained MeitY, there is bound to be continuity in policies. Expect retention of focus on areas Vaishnaw

The primary objective of the I&B ministry is to disseminate information about government policies, schemes and programmes through various mass communication mediums. However, in recent years, the ministry itself has been in the news over its attempts

Aviation has been the sunrise sector post the pandemic, with the number of air passengers rising every year, making it viable for Indian carriers to go into an expansion mode. Riding this boom, the government has envisioned creating multiple internat

This financial year had started on a tepid note, with India’s merchandise exports rising only 1 per cent—to around $35 billion (Rs 2.92 lakh crore)—in April, compared to the same month last year. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war along with other geopol

India’s 63 million Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) contribute a significant 29 per cent to its GDP and 44 per cent to exports and thus are integral to the country’s journey towards becoming a ‘Viksit Bharat’. However, these businesses hav

The heavy industries ministry plays a critical role in fostering domestic manufacturing and industrial growth. One of its biggest components is the automotive industry. Exports in the sector fell 5.5 per cent in FY24, due to the slowdown in several a

India has an estimated 254 million of its population aged 15-24 years, the highest globally. The ministry of sports and youth affairs, thus, plays a crucial role in harnessing this demographic’s potential for nation-building and economic growth throu

In the past 10 years, the Modi government has done fairly well in removing many of the glitches on the input side of farming. However, its attempts to reform the farm gate to market access side have seen scant success. The Centre tried to open up the

The ministry’s ambit involves initiatives for poverty eradication, increasing livelihood opportunities and providing a social safety net. Funds are not an issue—budgetary allocation for 2024-25 is Rs 1.85 lakh crore. The rural landscape is undergoing

India has yet to lever  age its Jal Shakti, despite the lavishing of funds and attention. Both the Jal Jeevan Mission—to provide piped water supply to all homes—and Namami Gange, to clean and desilt the river, are works in progress. What is encouragi

Considering what the ruling BJP had promised in its election manifesto—universal, quality and future-ready education as envisioned by the New Education Policy, 2020—the education ministry pretty much knows what it has to do. The immediate priorities

Each year, 12 million people are added to the working age population in India, representing a vast pool of potential workers that could see the country reaping a demographic dividend. However, unemployment is rife even among the educated youth. Accor

Emerging from the shadow of Covid-19, India saw a 64 per cent growth in foreign tourist arrivals in 2023, thanks to several government initiatives promoting tourism and enhancing connectivity. However, India still lags behind European, American and e

India’s healthcare system and parameters have improved in the past decade. We have implemented the world’s largest insurance scheme, improved doctor-patient ratio and begun reducing critical indicators such as maternal and child mortality and the bur

The Union ministry of chemicals and fertilisers is instrumental in ensuring India’s food and drugs security. Other than chemicals and fertilisers, it also has a pharmaceutical department. India’s chemical industry is highly diversified and covers ove

After the Patanjali mis-leading advertisements case, the pressure is on the ministry of Ayush, by now a familiar acronym for traditional health systems like Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy, to bridge the gap between traditional and mode

With Hardeep Singh Puri back at the helm of the petroleum ministry, the sector is expected to see a continuity in policy. The minister has already said that boosting domestic oil and gas production, promoting green hydrogen and increasing the use of

Reforms in the power sector typically have two main points of focus–make the state DISCOMs (distribution companies) efficient financially as well as operationally and accelerate the process of addition of generation capacity. AT&C (aggregate technica

Formerly known as the urban development ministry, the ministry of housing and urban affairs executes a multitude of welfare programmes for the Modi government. The first decision of the new government was to construct more houses under the PM Awas Yo

India has set an ambitious target of 500 gigawatts of renewable energy capacities by 2030-31, along with developing affordable storage capacities and the National Green Hydrogen Mission, which plans to produce 5 MT of green hydrogen annually by then.

The ministry fulfils its mandate to ensure food security to all through two mechanisms—the public distribution system as well as the various price support mechanisms, like procurement of foodgrains at minimum support prices. The consumer affairs depa

In the past decade, the Indian telecom sector has gone through a major transformation. From a competitive arena marked by several players, the sector has turned into a near-duopoly, dominated by Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel. The previous telecom mi

As Arjun Ram Meghwal takes charge as the country’s law minister, the foremost task before his ministry is to fortify what is a crucial pillar of government, both in terms of manpower and infrastructure. The India Justice Report, published in 2023 by

Tribal upliftment has been a key focus area of the Modi government through all its terms. This perhaps explains the 190 per cent increase in budget allocation for the tribal affairs ministry in the past decade—from Rs 4,295.94 crore in FY14 to Rs 12,