Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's new team
assumed charge on Monday after 22 ministers,
including 17 new faces, were sworn in the
biggest reshuffle of Council of Ministers on
Sunday. The new ministers are expected to give
a firm push to the reforms agenda and help
counter the government's image of being soft
on corruption. The young brigade in the Council
of Ministers is close to Rahul Gandhi even as
Manmohan Singh has taken a gamble by giving
several new entrants important portfolios with
independent charge.
Jyotiraditya Scindia took charge as the Minister
of State for Power at a time when the sector
is grappling with a crisis. With two major
power grid failures in the recent past and
protests against nuclear power plants, Scindia
holds a difficult task ahead. With the ban on
coal mining in Karnataka and Goa, India has been
facing a major power shortage. The issue of
the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant also
remains a contentious one. Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister Jayalalithaa has been demanding that
the power attained from Kudankulam be given
fully to her state even as there have been
protests with activists questioning the safety
of the plant. In such a situation, it remains to
be seen whether a young minister like Scindia
will be able to take India out of such a crisis.
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