India
oi-Deepika S
New Delhi, Jun 05: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Sunday inducted 21 ministers including 7 first-timers and three women, in the biggest ever cabinet reshuffle in his 22-year-long reign.
The new council of ministers has 12 fresh faces and five women. Three of the five women — Pramila Mallick, Usha Devi and Tukuni Sahu — have been given cabinet ranks. Representation has also been given to leaders of scheduled tribe, scheduled caste and Other Backward Class categories.
This is the first time that Patnaik filled 21 berths in his council of ministers. In his previous terms, one berth had always remained vacant.
On Saturday, all 20 ministers of the state had resigned, paving way for the reconstitution.
Of the 20 ministers who resigned on Saturday, Patnaik re-appointed only nine — Jagannath Saraka, Niranjan Pujari, R P Swain, Prafulla Kumar Mallick, NK Das, Ashok Panda, Tukuni Saho, Samir Ranjan Dash and TK Behera.
Those that did not make it to the new team include Arun K Sahoo, B K Arukha, Padmanabh Behera, Pratap Jena, Sudam Marandi, Sushant Singh, D S Mishra, and J R Panigrahi.
Comparatively younger faces have been inducted in Patnaik’s team, with an eye on 2024 elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Assembly.
Odisha new cabinet ministers list with portfolio
• Niranjan Pujari: Finance, Parliamentary Affairs
• Jaganath Saraka: SC, ST Development, Minorities, Backward class welfare, Law
• Ranendra Pratap Swain: Agriculture and Farmers Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resources Development.
• Pradeep Kumar Amat: Forest and Environment, Panchayat Raj and Drinking water, Information and public relation.
• Pramila Mallik: Revenue and Disaster management
• Pratap Keshari Deb: Industries, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises and Energy
• Usha Devi: Housing and Urban Development
• Prafulla Kumar Mallick: Steel, Mines and Works
• Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak: Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare, Co-operation
• Naba Kishore Das: Health and Family Welfare
• Ashok Chandra Panda: Science and Technology, Public Enterprises, Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disability
• Tukuni Sahu: Water Resources, Commerce and Transport
• Rajendra Dolkia: Planning and Convergence
Minister of State (Independent Charge)
- Samir Ranjan Dash: School and Mass Education
- Ashwini Kumar Patra: Tourism, Odia Language, Literature and Culture, Excise
- Pritiranjan Gharai: Rural Development, Skill Development and Technical Education
- Srikanta Sahu: Labour and Employees State Insurance
- Tusharkanti Behera: Electronics and Information Technology, Sports and Youth Services
- Rohit Pujari: Higher Education
- Rita Sahu:Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts
- Basanti Hembram: Women and Child Development and Mission Shakti
