19:35
In a statement in Mumbai, Kamat said, There is no question of disappointment over portfolio; it is an important one. The reasons (for skipping swearing-in) are personal and not defiance of party leadershipI have highest regard for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi; I wrote to them to...
19:21
Gurudas Kamat has resigned from the Union Cabinet, apparently over not being made a Cabinet minister in Tuesday's reshuffle.Kamat, who is MoS in the Ministries of Home and Communication and IT, was made Minister of State with Independent Charge and given a new portfolio of Drinking Water and...
18:13
New team Manmohan sworn-in, in what the PM hopes will be the last reshuffle before the 2014 elections. While the big four ministries -- defence, finance, home, external affairs have been left untouched -- there have been changes in the middle level with eight new faces. The biggie is that...
17:53
PM on Gurudas, Jena's absence at the swearing-in ceremony: Have taken the best interest of the country while doing the reshuffle, but the rejig is bound to hurt someone. I feel it is a balanced Cabinet --Â a balance between states and continuity.
17:51
PM on Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi not being in the Cabinet. I have asked him many times, he said he is busy with organisation work.
17:47
Immediately after the Cabinet reshuffle, the PM said he, Hoped this is the last reshuffle before the 2014 elections. Dr Singh also says that two seats have been kept vacant for the DMK.
17:41
On Twitter: Now Jayanthi Natarajan will not be on NDTV 24X7. Which means Mani Shankar Aiyar's time on NDTV goes up! Nooooooooo!! SOS!
17:39
The maximum number of ministers belong to Maharashtra at nine, while Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have eight ministers each. There are now eight women ministers in the PM's team after the reshuffle.Many Tamil Nadu Congress MPs are unhappy over the inclusion of Jayanthi Natarajan.
17:36
Congress sources are now saying that the party is unwilling to talk to #Gurudas Kamat, sulking over his new portfolio as MoS Drinking Water and Sanitation. He wants to be a Cabinet minister, but the Congress may actually consider dropping him from the Cabinet if he refuses to comply. Â
17:28
Gurudas Kamat, as promised, does not attend the swearing-in ceremony. Ditto Srikant Jena. See our 14:17 pm post to find out why.  Â
17:25
Rajiv Shukla takes oath as Parliamentary Affairs minister (MoS). He takes over from Bansal. He is also chairman of the media committee of the BCCI. Shukla says he will do his duty and has enough time to discharge responsibilities of the BCCI as well.Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi seated next to...
17:22
And here comes Milind Deora (34), MoS Communications and IT minister (MoS) takes oath. His dad, Murli Deora watches the swearing in. Murli resigned as minister two weeks ago.  Â
17:21
Turbaned MP Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, a close confidante of Rahul Gandhi stumbles through his oath as Home Affairs minister (MoS). He belongs to the royal family of Alwar, Rajasthan.
17:18
Charan Das Mahant assumes charge as MoS Agriculture and Food Processing Industries. He has also been chairman of joint committee for salaries and allowances of MPs.
17:16
Trinamool's Sudip Bandopadhyaya sworn in as Health and Welfare minister (MoS). He takes the oath without fear or 'fabor'. He has been the chief whip of the TMC since 1999.
17:14
Patan Singh Ghatowar, who has been the Congress Party's chief whip since 2009 assumes charge as Development of North-East (MoS). He's from Assam.
17:12
Jayanthi Natarajan, the new environment and forest minister is sworn in. Won't get to hear her tart comments as the Congress spokesperson hereafter. She is MoS Independent charge.Â
17:10
Rural Development minister Jairam Ramesh sworn in. He was elevated to Cabinet minister, but was shorn off the environment portfolio, possibly because he is seen as an obstructionist.
17:08
Trinamool's Dinesh Trivedi sworn in as railway miniser. He is an MP from Barrackpore, West Bengal. He used to be MoS, Steel and has been RS MP from 1990 to 2008.
17:06
Kishore Chandra Deo, sworn in as minister Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj. He has been elevated to a Cabinet minister. Deo was a contender for the Speaker's post earlier.Beni Prasad Verma sworn in as minister of steel.
17:02
The swearing-in ceremony of the new ministers begins at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
16:15
Singer Robbie Williams' first words were f***> The Take That singer has blamed his habit of using abusive language to his early upbringing in a pub and said that one of his 'first words was f***.' I was born and raised for the first three years of my life in a pub, One of my first sentences...
16:06
Sushma Swaraj vents on Twitter:Â The DMK has refused to provide replacement for Maran and Raja. The annoyance of the major allliance partner puts a question mark on the stability of this government. Â Madhya Pradesh has got a raw deal in this reshuffle. Kanti Lal Bhuria and Arun Yadav both have...
15:56
Just in: A Delhi court has awarded a life term to Sukhdev Pehalwan, the third convict in the 2002 Nitish Katara murder case. Pehlwan, the third accused in the nine-year-old Nitish Katara murder case, was last Wednesday found guilty by a trial court, which said that he too had been present with...
15:43
Heads up, Indian women: there's strength in numbers. A recent study released by the Nielsen Company that examines the consumer and media habits of women in emerging and developed countries has found that women in India are the most stressed and they spend differently. The report in cnn.com says...
15:33
From Pakistan's Dawn: China has pledged its support for close ally Pakistan today, after the United States announced it would suspend $800 million worth of security aid to Islamabad. Pakistan is an important country in South Asia. The stability and development of Pakistan is closely connected...
15:26
Sushma Swaraj on Twitter: Normally a cabinet reshuffle is undertaken to assess the performance of ministers and to correct imbalance amongst states and alliance partners. The present reshuffle by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has done just the opposite.
15:23
CNN's list of Asia's 30 sexiest athletes is out. Of the 30, five are Indians. In no particular order (and hardly surprising) the hotties are: MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Tania Sachdev (Chess), Sania Mirza (pictured in an over-the-top red satin blouse) and Dipika Pallikal (Squash).ReadÂ
15:13
From MK Bhadrakumar's blog... With a week to go for the US-India strategic dialogue in Delhi, the American side has shed its ambivalence about the implications of Nuclear Supply Group's decision to introduce conditional approach to its 'clean waiver' on transfer of enrichment and reprocessing...
15:09
While we're on US-Pak relations, read this blog by Sebastian Abbot in AP -- Is US military aid to Pakistan in the doldrums? Excerpt: The decision to suspend more than one-third of American military aid to Pakistan could end up hurting Washington more than Islamabad as the United States seeks to...
15:03
Adding more fuel to the fractious relationship with the US, Pakistan Premier Yousuf Raza Gilani has said that US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen's remarks that Pakistan government sanctioned the killing of journalist Syed Saleem Shahzad are tantamount to interference in the country'sinternal...
14:53
Just in: The Taliban have taken responsibility for the assassination of President Karzai's brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai. Afghan president Hamid Karzai says his brother's assassination reflects the suffering of all Afghan people. The assassination came just before the Afghan leader received French...
14:20
Superstition always makes for an interesting read and this one's no different. A PTI story questions whether the mantra of elevation lies in a lucky room in the Home Ministry. Three Ministers of State who have occupied it have been subsequently promoted in the last two years. The 'lucky' room,...
14:17
Rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt says that Gurudas Kamat has told the Congress leadership that he would not like to take part in the swearing-in-ceremony this evening. Kamat, who was minister of State in the telecommunication ministry has, now, been given independent charge as MOS of Drinking water and...
14:00
DMK boss M Karunanidhi says he did not ask Finance minister and Congress troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee for replacement portfolios, but says he will discuss the reshuffle in the general council meet and insists the reshuffle is not complete.
13:53
In the aftermath of the Cabinet reshuffle, the BJP has this to say. Calling the reshuffle a damp squib the Opposition insisted that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has failed to reassure the nation and dispel the gloom shadowing the UPA government. It's a futile exercise which inspires none and in...
13:38
Here's how the Afghan President Hamid Karzai's half brother was killed. The New York Times says he was shot dead today by a family bodyguard, according to Karzai family friends who were nearby. Ahmed Wali Karzai, the provincial council chairman for Kandahar Province ' the most powerful person in...
13:34
It's only a formality, but mandatory before the 13 new ministers take oath of office this evening -- President Pratibha Patil has accepted the resignation of the seven ministers of the Union Cabinet including that of DMK's Dayandhi Maran.
13:27
While Ahmed Wali Karzai is in fact, the Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother -- he's a step removed. Wali Karzai is the younger paternal half-brother of the president. He is also the representative for the southern Afghanistan region and is an elder of the Popalzai Pashtun tribe and was...
13:23
Ahmed Wali Karzai had in fact, survived a number of assassination attempts by Taliban militants and at least two attacks against his office in Kandahar: one in November 2008 and the other in April 2009.According to him, a total of nine suicide bombers lost their lives trying to kill him.
13:19
More on the killing of Hamid Karzai's brother Ahmed Wali's assassination today allegedly by his bodyguards.  It has been alleged by James Risen of the New York Times and that Ahmed Wali Karzai was a prominent figure in the Afghan drug trade, controlling a significant proportion...
13:14
Ahmad Wali Karzai, a brother of Afghan President Hamid Karzai and one of the most powerful men in southern Afghanistan, was killed today, an official and a family member confirmed, says the Dawn.comI confirm that Ahmad Wali was killed inside his house,' said Zalmay Ayoubi, spokesman for the...
13:13
In the neighbourhood, US drones have stepped up strikes on the country's lawless tribal belt pounding the region with missiles targeting a rebel compound killing eight militants early today. The drones unleashed their lethal hellfire missiles on a vehicle in South Waziristan tribal region killing...
13:04
Just in:Â Reliance Industries replies to CAG audit observations; refutes all charges. Three private companies, Reliance Industries Ltd, Cairn Energy and British Gas had been asked to formally respond to the audit findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in its draft report over...
12:58
Absolutely warm pictures of the bikini-clad Carla Bruni as she shows off her pregnancy curves in all their glory on holiday with husband and French president Nicolas Sarkozy. See the pictures in the Daily Mail
12:52
Newsflash: The brother of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai has been wounded in an assassination attempt, says Reuters.Details soon. While on Afghanistan, French president Nicolas Sarkozy is on a surprise visit to Kabul. See our 11:08 am post.
12:49
The lady in the limelight, post reshuffle, is of course, Jayanthi Natarajan.She makes a comeback to the Union Council of Ministers after a gap of nearly 13 years, taking charge of the environment portfolio, earlier held by Jairam Ramesh. Ramesh has been elevated with a Cabinet rank and gets...
12:37
In the much-talked about revamping of his ministry, Singh did not touch the 'big four' -- Finance, Home, Defence and External Affairs -- but shifted M Veerappa Moily from Law to Corporate Affairs and brought Salman Khursheed in his place. Trinamool Congress leader Dinesh Trivedi has been elevated...
12:34
In a substantive yet incomplete exercise, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today dropped seven ministers, inducted V Kishore Chandra Deo and seven other new faces, and elevated three others including Jairam Ramesh from whom Environment and Forests has been taken away.
12:33
If you've been following the Cabinet reshuffle, here's what you should also read:The PM's new team MoS Rajiv Shukla has friends in all political parties Dr Singh needs a new team, not a reshuffle
12:22
Moving on from the Cabinet reshuffle -- oath of office at 5 pm today -- here's news from Europe. In the aftermath of the phone hacking scandal that led to the closure of the 168-year-old institution -- the News of the World -- it now emerges that the medical records disclosing that former UK PM...
12:07
Mrityunjoy Kumar Jha on Twitter: Sonia Gandhi has appointed Vilas Muttemwar as General Secretary and Arun Yadav as Secretary of AICC with immediate effect. Arun Yadav was dropped as minister.
12:00
The seven ministers who were dropped...The Prime Minister has fowarded the resignation letters of the following Ministers in the Union Council of Ministers with the recommendation that they may be accepted. 1. Dayanidhi Maran 2. Murli Deora 3. BK Handique 4. Dr. MS Gill 5. Kanti Lal Bhuria 6. A...
11:55
And finally, the Ministers of State... Sudip Bandopadhyaya: Health and Family Welfare Charan Das Mahant: Agriculture and Food Processing Industries Jitendra Singh: Home Affairs Milind Deora: Communications and Information Technology. This used to be his dad Murli Deora's portfolio. Murli...
11:53
Then you have the Ministers of State (Independent Charge)Â Â Srikant Jena: Statistics and Programme Implementation and Minister of State in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers Jayanthi Natarajan: Environment and Forests Paban Singh Ghatowar: Development of North Eastern Region Gurudas...
11:51
Here's the full and final list of changes in the Cabinet. Â Cabinet Ministers. These are without exception, promotions. Â V Kishore Chandra Deo: Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj Beni Prasad Verma: Steel Dinesh Trivedi:Â Railways Jairam Ramesh:Â Rural Development
11:45
Incidentally, Congress stalwart Murli Deora is out from the Cabinet, but son Milind is made MoS. But the other young face -- Congress MP Jyotiraditya Scindia -- remains untouched.
11:41
Another blow for M Karunanidhi -- no new ministries for Congress's chief ally DMK after A Raja and Dayanidhi Maran's exit.
11:34
Most of the changes have taken place in the Congress party, though the allies haven't been moved around terribly much. Incidentally, Anand Sharma gets textiles after DMK's Dayanidhi Maran got the boot. Minister of State Mukul Roy was divested of the Railways portfolio (goes to Trinamool's Dinesh...
11:28
Incidentally, Kapil Sibal has retained both HRD and telecom portfolios. V Kishore Chandra Deo from Andhra Pradesh gets Tribal Affairs and Panchayati Raj portfolio and is now a Cabinet minister.
11:26
13 ministers will be sworn in today. Point to be noted is that the Trinamool retains the railway portfolio -- Dinesh Trivedi is the new railway minsiter -- a TC man.Â
11:23
Rajiv Shukla is MoS Parliamentary Affairs Gurudas Kamat MoS (Independent): Drinking water and sanitation Congress chief whip Paban Singh Ghatowar inducted as Minister of State with Independent charge.Incidentally, Jairam Ramesh, though dropped from the envirnoment ministry has in fact been...
11:19
Trinamool Congress chief whip Sudip Bandopadhyaya, Congress leaders Charan Das Mahant, Jitendra Singh, Milind Deora, Rajiv Shukla make their debut as Ministers of State in the Cabinet.
11:18
Who gets what... Salman Khurshid is new law minister KC Deo gets tribal affairs. Milind Deora is MoS Communication, Information and Technology.Mukul Roy get shipping.Jitendra Singh: MoS Home Affairs.Sudip Bandhopadhya is MoS Health and Family Welfare.
11:14
Cabinet reshuffle: Dinesh Trivedi is the new railways minister. Gets a Cabinet rank.M S Gill, Dayanidhi Maran, Sai Pratap, Arun Yadav dropped.Vilarao Deshmukh gets Science, Tech and Earth SciencesVeerappa Moily: Corporate Affairs
11:13
Cabinet reshuffle: Jayanthi Natarajan replaces Jairam Ramesh as environment minister. Ramesh has been dropped from the Cabinet.
11:08
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has arrived in Afghanistan on an unannounced visit, reports the bbc.co.ukSarkozy is due to visit a military base in Kapisa province, where most of the French troops are based. This is his third visit to Afghanistan since he became the president, reports said.Last...
11:02
More on Osama.A CIA analyst who played a lead role in locating Osama bin Laden was placed under protection by the US spy agency this month because of new threat information indicating that he might be targeted by Al Qaeda, say US officials. Â A US official said that the decision was driven by...
10:53
First up, the the legend of Osama bin Laden, that refuses to die. The CIA apparently ran a fake vaccination programme in the Pakistani town of Abbottabad, where it believed Osama bin Laden was hiding, to obtain DNA information of his family members in order to determine whether the al-Qaeda chief...
10:46
Good morning. Big day ahead for the UPA ahead of the Cabinet reshuffle this evening. We'll keep you posted, of course. But here's a look at the headlines this morning. Â Â Little-known outfit claims responsibility for Assam blast (The Hindu)An improvised explosive device was used to trigger the...
