The Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance won a majority in the recent General Elections, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi returning for a third term. In his new Cabinet, PM Modi has repeated many high-profile ministers such as Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, and S. Jaishankar in the same portfolio they held in the previous term. But there are also some new faces such as former chief ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Manohar Lal.
In February 2024, Sitharaman presented the Interim Budget of Rs 47.67 lakh crore for fiscal year 2024-25. Now that the new Cabinet has taken charge, let’s look at which of these ministries has the highest share of the Union Budget.
Nirmala Sitharaman: Sitharaman will lead the finance ministry again. In the Interim Budget, the Ministry of Finance was allocated Rs 18.5 lakh crore, the highest share of 39% of the total Budget. She also holds the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, which has a budget of Rs 667 crore for FY25.
Rajnath Singh: He returns as the defence minister for the second time. The ministry has a total budget of Rs 6.2 lakh crore, and has the second-highest share (13%) of the total Budget for FY25.
Shivraj Singh Chouhan: The former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh is a new entrant to the Union Cabinet, helming the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, and Ministry of Rural Development. The agriculture ministry has been allocated Rs 1.3 lakh crore while Rural Development has a budget of Rs 1.8 lakh crore. The departments under Chouhan have 6.5% of the total Budget.
Ashwini Vaishnaw: The Railway Minister is also in charge of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Railways have a budget of Rs 2.55 lakh crore, while MeitY has a budget of over Rs 21,000 crore, and information and broadcasting has Rs 4,000 crore. Vaishnaw is responsible for 5.9% of the total Budget.
Nitin Gadkari: Another minister who has retained his portfolio. As the Minister of Road Transport and Highways, he will manage the Rs 2.78 lakh crore allocated for the ministry, which has the fifth largest share at 5.8% of the country’s Budget.
J. P. Nadda: Former BJP national president has made a comeback into the central government with the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilisers, which has a budget Rs 1.68 lakh crore, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which has a budget Rs 90,000 crore. He is responsible for Rs. 2.59 lakh crore in total or 5.4% of the national Budget.
Pralhad Joshi: The BJP leader from Karnataka has got a new portfolio of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, which has a budget Rs 2.13 lakh crore, and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy with a budget Rs 12,850 crore. He will manage Rs 2.26 lakh crore in all or 4.7% of the total Budget.
Jyotiraditya Scindia: He also been shifted to a new portfolio, the Ministry of Communications, which has a budget Rs 1.37 lakh crore, and the Ministry of Development of the North-Eastern Region, which has a budget Rs 5,900 crore. Scindia is responsible for 3% of the national Budget.
Amit Shah: He has retained his portfolio of the Ministry of Home Affairs with a budget Rs 1.4 lakh crore and the Ministry of Cooperation, which has a budget of Rs 1,200 crore. Shah is responsible for 2.9% of India’s Budget.
Dharmendra Pradhan: He is at the tenth spot in the list of Cabinet ministers he holds the Ministry of Human Resource Development which has a budget of Rs 1.2 lakh crore or 2.5% of India’s Budget for FY25.