Other BriefingsModi Government Reconstitutes Cabinet Committees After 2024 Elections
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government has announced its eight cabinet panels, granting the highest representation to NDA allies since 2014. Key coalition partners in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) are now represented in the freshly constituted Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) and the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA).
This move, made just weeks after the Council of Ministers was sworn in on June 9, indicates significant inclusion of coalition party members in core policy making committees.
The previous portfolio adjustments, or ministerial changes, occurred on December 8, 2023.
Making room for coalition party members in cabinet committees
PM Modi, who belongs to the dominant Bharatya Janata Party (BJP), will be heading six committees out of eight cabinet committees.
NDA leaders from outside the BJP, such as HD Kumaraswamy from Janata Dal (Secular), Jitin Ram Majhi from HAM, and K. Rammohan Naidu from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), among others, have been included as new cabinet committee members.
The present cabinet committees are:
- Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS)
- Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA)
- Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC)
- Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs
- Cabinet Committee on Accommodation (CCA)
- Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA)
- Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth (CCIG)
- Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development (CCESD)
After winning the 2014 general election, Modi announced the decision to scrap four cabinet committees that were constituted by the previous government. The committees disbanded were Unique Identification Authority (UIDAI), the Cabinet Committee on Prices, the Cabinet Committee on Management of Natural Calamities, and the Cabinet Committee on World Trade Organisation Matters.
New cabinet appointments
- CCEA
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is chaired by the Prime Minister and oversees decisions on industrial policies, major investment proposals, and significant infrastructure projects like dams and power plants. The CCEA was first reconstituted after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections (elections to the lower house of parliament).
Following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the CCEA has added non-BJP NDA allies HD Kumaraswamy (Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel from JDS) and Lalan Singh (Panchayati Raj, and Animal Husbandry Minister from Janata Dal (United)).
- CCS
The Cabinet Committee on Security is responsible for discussing, debating, and making final decisions on senior appointments within the national security apparatus, as well as on defense policy, expenditure, and all matters related to India’s national security. The newly constituted CCS includes Prime Minister Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. Given the retention of their portfolios from the outgoing administration, the CCS members remain the same.
- ACC
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet is a high-level committee within the Government of India that oversees the appointment of senior officials to key positions in the central government as well as public sector bodies. The ACC consists of only two members, PM Modi and Amit Shah; as such, the committee remains unchanged from the previous administration.
- CCPA
The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs addresses issues related to relations between central and state governments, considers economic and political matters that require a broader perspective, and handles foreign affairs without internal or external security implications. The committee now includes MSME Minister Jitin Ram Majhi from HAM and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu from the TDP, two political allies of the BJP. Known as the ‘super cabinet,’ it includes most of the key Cabinet ministers.
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Cabinet committee |
Members appointed after 2024 Lok Sabha elections |
Special invitees |
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Cabinet Committee on Security |
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Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs |
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Appointments Committee of the Cabinet |
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Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs |
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Cabinet Committee on Accommodation |
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Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs |
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Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth* |
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Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development |
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*The CCIG has increased its membership from eight to 11, adding Chirag Paswan of the Lok Janshakti Party (RV). Source: Cabinet Secretariat, GoI |
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Significance of cabinet committees in India’s policy making architecture
The Prime Minister and other senior ministers chosen by the head of state make up the Cabinet, which is the highest decision-making body in the Indian government. It is in charge of coordinating government operations as well as formulating and carrying out policy decisions.
Although the term “Cabinet” was added to Article 352 of the Indian Constitution only in 1978 by the 44th Constitutional Amendment Act, ‘Cabinet Committees’ have not been specified in the Constitution. These are established under Chapter 2 – Parliament, Article 118 of the Constitution of India 1950: the “Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the House of the People.”
In India, cabinet committees typically include cabinet ministers as their primary members. However, they may also incorporate individuals who are not cabinet ministers. For example, senior ministers without direct responsibility for the committee’s topics can be included.
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