22 May : Manmohan Singh was sworn-in as Prime Minister for a second consecutive term at the head of a 20-member team in the first instalment of government formation.
Singh, the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to get a second opportunity after a full-term, was sworn-in by President Pratibha Patil exactly five years to date after the UPA government assumed office in 2004.
Pranab Mukherjee, Sharad Pawar, A K Antony and P Chidambaram, already ministers in the outgoing government, were among those who took the oaths of office and secrecy along with new entrants S M Krishna, Mamata Banerjee, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Veerappa Moily and C P Joshi.
In constituting the new government, senior Congress leaders Arjun Singh, H R Bhardwaj, Saifuddin Soz and Sis Ram Ola do not figure in the ministry.S Jaipal Reddy, Vayalar Ravi, Sushilkumar Shinde, Kamal Nath, Meira Kumar, Kapil Sibal, Anand Sharma, Ambika Soni, B K Handique and Murli Deora have retained their berth in the ministry with Sharma and Handique being elevated.
The oath taking ceremony in the Rashtrapati Bhavan was attended among others by Vice President Hamid Ansari, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader L K Advani.Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, former Vice President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Lalu Prasad, Ram Vilas Paswan and service chiefs were also present.
The PMO said Friday’s exercise will be followed in the next few days by an expansion of the Council of Ministers, including other Cabinet ministers, Ministers of State with independent charge and other Ministers of State which will give due representation to allied parties.
PM’s 100-day timeline will be the mantra for us: New ministers
Brimming with confidence, the ministers in the new Union Cabinet, some of whom are Congress heavweights serving a second straight term, spoke of getting down to business quickly to work on the 100-day timeline set by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
The ministers said they were not aware of the portfolios they would get but voiced their commitment to provide a "honest, transparent and well meaning leadership" and work on setting targets and goals for various programmes in 100 days.
"The momentum of the government starts from day one and the action plan to be framed by each ministry sets the tone of the government," stressed Kamalnath, who said he would be "happy" in any portfolio.
"I am looking forward to serve again with honesty and purpose," said the former Commerce Minister.
Kapil Sibal and Ambika Soni, who had looked after Science and Technology and Culture Departments respectively in the outgoing Cabinet, said the strong mandate given to the Congress and the UPA was an opportunity to bear the responsibility of providing good governance.
Possibly sensing that Environment may come under his wing, Sibal spoke of how India is ready to meet challenges posed by global warming and how it was framing sound policies at the national and global level.
Soni said the Manmohan Singh government in its first five-year term fulfilled all "promises" and the roadmap in the first 100 days in its second term will be a sound platform to vigorously push new policies.
Rajasthan PCC chief C P Joshi, who is making his debut in the Cabinet, confessed he would like to get the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj ministry.
Joshi, who has been widely involved in rural activities in the desert state, said the downtrodden section of the society must be involved in a big way for the progress of the nation.