Nine new faces were sworn-in by President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhavan from 10.30 this morning as part of Narendra Modi-led NDA government's cabinet reshuffle. This is the third, and probably the last such rejig ahead of the 2019 General Elections.
At least half a dozen Union ministers were asked to quit earlier, to allow Mr. Modi headroom for this massive rejig.
Live updates
1.30 p.m: The official portfolio list is out. Nirmala Sitharaman will be India's new Defence Minister. She will be the first full-time woman Defence Minister and the second woman to hold this post after Indira Gandhi, who held additional charge.
Suresh Prabhu is Minister of Commerce and Industry
Piyush Goyal is Minister of Railways and Minister of Coal
Hardeep Singh Puri is Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
Nitin Gadkari is Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Minister of Shipping; and Minister of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
Uma Bharti is Minister of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Her previous portfolio of Water Resources and Ganga Rejuvenation has been given to Nitin Gadkari.
Rajyavardhan Rathore is Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Vijay Goel earlier held Independent Charge of this portfolio.
Alphons Kannanthanam is Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Tourism; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
Dharmendra Pradhan is Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Minister of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
P. Radhakrishnan is Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Shipping.
Raj Kumar Singh is Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of Power; and Minister of State (Independent Charge) of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is Minister of Minority Affairs. He had independent charge of the Ministry as a MoS earlier.
Shiv Pratap Shukla is Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance.
Ashwini Kumar Chaubey is Minister of State in the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Virendra Kumar is Minister of State in the Ministry of Women and Child Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
Ananth Kumar Hegde is Minister of State in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare
Satya Pal Singh is Minister of State in the Ministry of Human Resource Development; and Minister of State in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.
12.20 p.m: The first confirmation that has come our way is that Arun Jaitley will retain his portfolios of Finance and Defence. No full-time Defence Minister after all.
Meanwhile, as we write, Narendra Modi boards the flight for Xiamen, China for the BRICS Summit. A sign that the remaining portfolios will be announced soon?
11.40 a.m: Piyush Goyal is most likely to get the Railways ministry. We're still waiting for the portfolios to be announced. Nirmala Sitharaman is likely to retain Commerce and Industry. Mr. Goyal and Ms. Sitharaman were promoted to Cabinet rank today.
Will there be a full-time defence minister? Military circles are hoping for one. Read on .
11.35 a.m: The portfolios are yet to be announced. What's in store for Suresh Prabhu, currently the Railways Minister? His tweet didn't offer any clues but he's bidding farewell to his portfolio: " Thanks to all 13 Lacs+ rail family for their support,love,goodwill.I will always cherish these memories with me.Wishing u all a great life."
11.30 a.m: Here's what Narendra Modi tweeted: " I congratulate all those who have taken oath today. Their experience & wisdom will add immense value to the Council of Ministers."
11.10 a.m: Uma Bharti, Water Resources Minister, was absent at the ceremony today. Here's what she tweeted: "I am not in Varanasi. I am in my constituency Jhansi-Lalitpur for participating in some pre-scheduled event."
11.04 a.m: 13 Ministers have taken oath today. All rise for the National anthem.
11.02 a.m: Alphons Kannanthanam takes oath as Minister of State. He takes oath in English.
Alphons Kannanthanam is a former IAS officer of the 1979 batch, Kerala cadre. He is also a practicing advocate. He became famous as Delhi's Demolition Man when he was Commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority, having cleared DDA areas of encroachment removing around 15,000 illegal buildings. This got him listed in Time Magazine's list of 100 Young Global Leaders in 1994.
11.00 a.m: Satya Pal Singh takes oath as Minister of State.
Satya Pal Singh is a Lok Sabha MP from Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs and Chairperson of the Joint Committee on Offices of Profit.
10.59 a.m: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat takes oath as Minister of State.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is a Lok Sabha MP from Jodhpur, Rajasthan. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and Chairperson of the Fellowship Committee. As a technology-savvy, progressive farmer; Gajendra Singh Shekhawat is a role model for the rural community.
10.56: Hardeep Singh Puri takes oath as Minister of State. He takes oath in English.
Hardeep Puri is a decorated former IFS officer of the 1974 batch, known for his experience and expertise in foreign policy and national security. He is the President and Chairman of Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) think tank, and was the Vice President of International Peace Institute, New York.
10.55: Raj Kumar Singh takes oath as Minister of State.
Raj Kumar Singh is a Lok Sabha MP from Arrah, Bihar. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committees on Health and Family Welfare, Personnel, Pensions and Public Grievances and Law & Justice. Raj Kumar Singh is a former IAS officer of the 1975 batch, Bihar cadre.
10.52 a.m: Ananth Kumar Hegde takes oath as Minister of State.
Anantkumar Hegde is a Lok Sabha MP from Uttara Kannada, Karnataka. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs and Human Resource Development.
10.50 a.m: Virendra Kumar gets sworn in as Minister of State .
Virendra Kumar is a Lok Sabha MP from Tikamgah, Madhya Pradesh. He has had a distinguished career in Public Service as a 6 term Lok Sabha MP. He is the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Labour, and has been Chairman of the Joint Committee on Office of Profit and a Member of National Social Security Board.
10.48 a.m: Ashwini Kumar Chaubey takes oath as Minister of State.
Ashwini Kumar Choubey is a Lok Sabha MP from Buxar, Bihar. He is member of the Parliamentary Committee on Estimates and Standing Committee on Energy. He is also a Member of Central Silk Board. Elected for 5 consecutive terms to the Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has held important portfolios including Health, Urban Development and Public Health Engineering as a Cabinet Minister of the Government of Bihar for 8 years.
10.46 a.m: Shiv Pratap Shukla takes oath as Minister of State.
Shiv Pratap Shukla is a Rajya Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh. He is a Member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development. Elected a Member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly for 4 consecutive times in 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1996. Served as a Cabinet Minister in the Uttar Pradesh government for 8 years, and is known for his work in Rural Development, Education and Prison reform during his tenure.
10.44 a.m: Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi takes oath. He gets a promotion to Cabinet rank.
10.42 a.m: Nirmala Sitharaman steps forward. She takes oath in English. She gets a promotion.
10.40 a.m: Piyush Goyal takes oath. He gets a promotion.
10.38 a.m: Dharmendra Pradhan takes oath. He is elevated to Cabinet rank.
10.35 a.m: Should have begun five minutes ago. Slight delay by the looks of it. All rise again. President Ramnath Kovind makes his way in. The national anthem plays.
10.22 a.m: People are taking their seats at Rashtrapathi Bhavan. Who'll get Railways? Who'll get Defence? The suspense is on.
Narendra Modi makes his arrival. All rise.
10.05 a.m: K. C. Tyagi, spokesperson of the Janata Dal (United) has said that no-one from his party is taking oath today, or attending the ceremony, for that matter. "Not attending the swearing in ceremony does not mean there is any difference between us and BJP," Mr Tyagi said.
The ceremony begins at 10.30 a.m. The ministers will take oath at Durbar Hall, Rashtrapathi Bhavan.
9.50 a.m: Amit Shah has left Mr. Modi's residence. It's a busy Sunday for the Prime Minister as he leaves later today for Xiamen, China, for the BRICS summit on September 4.
9.15 a.m: BJP President Amit Shah arrives at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence to meet the new ministers about to take oath. As we edge closer to the ceremony, word going around is these four ministers - Nirmala Sitharaman, M.A Naqvi, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan - are likely to be promoted to the cabinet.
(Inputs from Nistula Hebbar )
