NEW DELHI: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take his oath of office on Thursday along with his ministers, though he suffered a setback at the start of his second term when key aide and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley opted out of the next government.
Many ministers who are also senior members of the ruling alliance are expected to keep their place in the government. But changes in their departments are likely, especially after Jaitley wrote to Modi on Wednesday asking to be kept out due to health reasons.Modi and the chief of his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party , Amit Shah, could also promote many fresh faces to reward good electoral performance, mainly in the east of the country where they have traditionally been weak.
Nearly 8,000 people, including leaders of the decimated opposition bloc, are expected to attend the ceremony that will fete the incredible rise of 68-year-old Modi, the son of a tea seller. This week, two major industrial bodies called on the new government to urgently take steps to bolster the economy, which grew 6.6 per cent in the three months to December - the slowest pace in five quarters.