9 June 2024

• Polity: Narendra Modi sworn in as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term. He becomes the first PM since Jawaharlal Nehru elected to a third straight term.
• Polity: 71 ministers sworn in including 31 Cabinet ministers, 5 Ministers of State (independent charge) and 36 Ministers of State.
• Diplomacy: leaders from seven neighbouring and regional nations attended the ceremony: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles.
• Continuity: key portfolios retained by same ministers: Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), S. Jaishankar (External Affairs), Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport).

GS area: Polity

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office and secrecy to PM Modi and the Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhawan at 7:15 PM on 9 June 2024.

• Article 75(4): a minister holds office during the pleasure of the President. Every minister must take an oath of office and an oath of secrecy in the form prescribed in the Third Schedule.
• Third Schedule form: the oath of office requires the minister to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution, to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India, and to faithfully and conscientiously discharge duties as a minister.
• First PM since Nehru: Nehru won consecutive elections in 1952, 1957 and 1962 but did not live out his third term. No PM between Nehru and Modi served three consecutive full terms. Modi's third term begins after his second consecutive full term (2019-2024).
• 71-member Council: India's Cabinet is not constitutionally limited in size, but the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act 2003 (inserting Article 75(1A)) capped the total ministers in the Union Council at 15 per cent of the total strength of the Lok Sabha. With 543 seats, the maximum is 81 ministers. The 71-member council is within this limit.
• 91st Amendment: also extended the anti-defection law to prevent splits in recognised parliamentary parties from being a route around disqualification.

Static linkage: polity, Parliament.

GS area: International Relations

Leaders from seven neighbouring and near-neighbourhood countries attended Modi's oath ceremony, embodying India's Neighbourhood First Policy.

• Attending leaders: Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina; Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe; Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal (Prachanda); Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay; Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu; Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth; Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif.
• Neighbourhood First Policy: India's foreign policy doctrine of prioritising relations with immediate neighbours. It includes preferential trade, development assistance, connectivity projects, and people-to-people ties.
• Bangladesh's importance: India's largest South Asian trade partner. India exports power, goods and services. Bangladesh is a transit partner for northeast India. The two countries share 4,096.7 kilometres of border.
• Maldives context: President Muizzu was elected in 2023 on an "India Out" platform. His attendance at Modi's oath was a diplomatic signal of reset. India had been concerned about Maldives seeking closer ties with China.
• Nepal: India and Nepal share an open border under the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which allows free movement of people and goods.

Static linkage: international relations, India's foreign policy.

GS area: Polity, Governance

The key portfolios of the 3.0 Cabinet reflected both continuity and coalition accommodation.

• Retained: Rajnath Singh (Defence), Amit Shah (Home), Nirmala Sitharaman (Finance), S. Jaishankar (External Affairs), Nitin Gadkari (Road Transport and Highways), Dharmendra Pradhan (Education), Piyush Goyal (Commerce).
• New allocation: Shivraj Singh Chouhan moved to Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare. JP Nadda moved to Health.
• Coalition accommodation: TDP's Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu was allocated Civil Aviation. JD-U's Rajiv Ranjan Singh (Lalan Singh) received Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, plus Panchayati Raj.
• Cabinet rank vs. MoS: Cabinet ministers attend Cabinet meetings as of right. Ministers of State attend only when their ministry's matters are discussed, unless specifically invited.
• Rule of Business: Cabinet decisions are governed by the Rules of Business framed under Article 77(3). These rules determine which matters require Cabinet approval, which can be decided by individual ministers, and which require circulation.

Static linkage: polity, governance.

GS area: Polity

The 91st Amendment is directly relevant to Cabinet size.

• What it did: inserted Article 75(1A) capping the total Council of Ministers at 15 per cent of the total membership of the Lok Sabha. For state councils, Article 164(1A) sets the same 15 per cent cap.
• Minimum: also set a minimum of 12 ministers for state councils (to prevent very small cabinets in small states).
• Anti-defection extension: the amendment also amended the Tenth Schedule to prevent the merger of political parties (previously two-thirds of a legislative party could merge and escape disqualification). Post-2003, the merger exemption was removed.
• Rationale: to prevent the practice of expanding cabinets as a tool of coalition management, and to address defection through manufactured mergers.

Static linkage: polity (Constitution, Parliament).

GS area: Polity, History

The oath was administered at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the official residence of the President.

• Rashtrapati Bhawan: a 330-room building designed by Edwin Lutyens and constructed from 1912 to 1929. Originally called Viceroy's House, it became the President's residence after independence. Located in New Delhi on Raisina Hill.
• Constitutional position of the President: a constitutional head who acts on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers (Article 74). The President's role in government formation is primarily formal: to appoint as PM the person who commands the confidence of the Lok Sabha.
• President's election: indirect election by an electoral college comprising elected members of both Houses of Parliament and elected members of state legislative assemblies. Article 54. Weighted voting to give states proportionate representation.
• Droupadi Murmu: elected President in July 2022. First President from the Scheduled Tribes community. She hails from the Santali tribe, Odisha.

Static linkage: polity, modern history.

GS area: Polity, History

Modi's third government is the first purely coalition-dependent government since Manmohan Singh's UPA-II (2009-2014).

• Past coalitions: VP Singh (1989-90, Janata Dal coalition, 10 months), HD Deve Gowda (1996-97, United Front), IK Gujral (1997-98, United Front), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1998-99, short-lived NDA; 1999-2004, NDA majority with partners), Manmohan Singh (UPA-I 2004-09, UPA-II 2009-14 with outside support).
• Parliamentary arithmetic: managing a coalition requires constant coordination. Key instruments include the Common Minimum Programme (a coalition agreement on policy priorities) and regular inter-ministerial committees.
• Common Minimum Programme: used by UPA-I and other coalitions. Lists policy commitments that all coalition partners accept. Not used in Modi 1.0 or 2.0 since BJP had outright majority.
• Vote of no-confidence: under Article 75(3), the Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha. A no-confidence motion requires a simple majority of members present and voting.
• Historical note: Nehru governed with Congress majorities from 1952 to 1964. Modi's two-term majority was thus the only post-Nehru period of single-party majority at the Centre.

Static linkage: polity, modern history, governance.

• Maldives relations reset: Muizzu's attendance despite his "India Out" rhetoric during his 2023 campaign was read as pragmatic. India had suspended a financial assistance tranche to Maldives after that campaign.
• Nepal's new PM: Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" had led a Maoist insurgency in Nepal before becoming Prime Minister. His attendance underscored India's sustained engagement with Nepal across political lines.