My Views on Cabinet Formation

Finance, Corporate Affairs and Defence.

Finance and Defence are two important portfolios and giving them to one person becomes too much for him and unwieldy to handle. With Asia Pacific region gaining importance and China showing muscle power in South China sea as well as on our North Eastern borders, Defence is very important and should be handled by a thorough professional. For that General VK Singh is the right choice. He can be made the defacto RM and later upgraded to Cabinet rank. Let us not be prejudiced with him. He has won with a astounding vote bank and remember your first rally in Rewari for the Ex Serviceman who are looking upto you to mitigate their problems. He can be given the additional charge of north east which will help in firming up our foreign policy. You may like to reconsider moving Gen VK Singh to the all important Ministry of Defence.

It will be a strong supporting message for the rank and file. The forces are looking upto you to improve the Defence Forces both in modernization and status.

Law, Justice and Telecom & IT

Law & Justice should be delinked from Telecom & IT. Law by itself is a very important portfolio and lot of reforms need to be undertaken.  By and large all Ministries are involved in legal tangles and need advice from Law Ministry. Burdening it with Telecom & IT will be too much. All Tribunals should be brought under the Law Ministry. Most of them are working under their parent Ministry and are unable to provide justice. The Armed Forces Tribunal is a classic example. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence has recommended that AFT be brought under the Law Ministry but continues to function under MoD. You may like to consider delinking Telecom & IT from Law and Justice.

Environment Ministry

Environment Ministry and I & B Ministry are diagrammatically opposite each other and have no co relation. Environmental clearance being an important factor for all projects should be part of Planning and Statics or with Urban development.

I & B Ministry

The previous incumbent had called this Ministry redundant. It is better if clubbed with Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs as it involves more of interaction with media and outward reach to the masses.

Food and Consumer Affairs and Food Processing.

The Ministry of Food Processing and that of Food and Consumer Affairs should be combined. The Public Distribution System (PDS) should also be brought under Food and Supplies which requires massive overhauling.