Cabinet rejig: Piyush Goyal to run finance; Irani removed from I&B ministry

Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was promoted as Minister of State (independent charge) for the I&B ministry

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal has emerged the chief troubleshooter for the Bharatiya Janata Party in the past couple of years. On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned to Goyal to take over the reins of the finance ministry while Arun Jaitley recovers from an operation.

The communique from the President’s House said Goyal had been “temporarily assigned” the portfolios of finance and corporate affairs during “the period of indisposition” of Jaitley. He would continue to hold the railways and coal ministry portfolios. 

The PM took the opportunity to effect a minor reshuffle of his council of ministers, including ending Smriti Irani’s nearly