Palaniappan Chidambaram today took over as the Home Minister for the second time in North Block here.
64-year-old Chidambaram is one among the 19 cabinet ministers who were sworn-in on May 22, along with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Chidambaram, a Harvard educated lawyer, was shifted to the Home Ministry from the Finance Ministry by the Prime Minister in the wake of the Mumbai terror attack last year which led to the resignation of Shivraj Patil from the post.
He has earned the reputation of being a good economic administrator capped by his image as a tough taskmaster during his short stint as the Home Minister.
Chidambaram has been focusing on reorganising the intelligence network, tightening the provisions in the anti-terror laws and amending the CISF Act.
