PM congratulates newly sworn-in ministers; says 'will build strong, prosperous India'

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated all the new ministers inducted into the Union Cabinet and said the government will continue working to fulfill the aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India.

"I congratulate all the colleagues who have taken an oath today and wish them the very best for their ministerial tenure. We will continue working to fulfill the aspirations of the people and build a strong and prosperous India," the PM posted on Twitter. He also shared a photo of the revamped Cabinet.

As many as 43 leaders took oath on Wednesday in the first Union Cabinet reshuffle and expansion after Prime Minister Modi returned to power for a second term in May 2019.

The swearing-in ceremony, which took place at Rashtrapati Bhavan amid COVID-19 protocols, came days ahead of the monsoon session of Parliament.

Some of the key figures inducted into Union cabinet include Jyotiraditya Scindia, Bhupender Yadav, Sarbananda Sonowal and Pashupati Kumar Paras.

Seven women MPs took oath as union ministers in the expanded council of ministers.

They include Anupriya Patel, Shobha Karandlaje, Darshana Vikram Jardosh, Meenakshi Lekhi, Annapurna Devi, Pratima Bhoumik and Bharati Pravin Pawar.

Meanwhile, seven Ministers of State have been promoted as Union Cabinet Ministers.

Former MoS G Kishan Reddy, Kiren Rijiju, Anurag Singh Thakur, Hardeep Singh Puri, Raj Kumar Singh, Parshottam Rupala and Mansukh Mandaviya took oath on Wednesday.