New Cabinet Committees have been formed after the Cabinet expansion at the Centre. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet will be headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while Home Minister Amit Shah will be the member.
- The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs and Cabinet Committee on Security will be headed by Prime Minister.
- Minister for Women and Child Development, Smriti Irani, Environment and Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav and Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal are now in the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which is headed by PM Narendra Modi.
- Union ministers Virendra Kumar, Kiren Rijiju and Anurag Thakur are the new members of the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs, which is headed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
- Ministers Narayan Rane, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Ashwini Vaishnaw are now in the Cabinet Committee on Investment and Growth.
- Ashwini Vaishnaw, Bhupender Yadav, RCP Singh and G Kishan Reddy have been included in the Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development.
- Environment and Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav has been included in the all-important Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA), along with Ports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Rural Development Minister Giriraj Singh.
- The members of the Cabinet Committee on Security are the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
- The two-member Appointments Committee of the Cabinet comprises Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Some of the Important Cabinet Committees:
Security: The Cabinet Committee on Security deals with issues relating to law and order, internal security and policy matters concerning foreign affairs with internal or external security implications. It also goes into economic and political issues related to national security. It considers all cases involving capital defence expenditure more than Rs 1,000 crore. It considers issues related to the Department of Defence Production and the Department of Defence Research and Development, Services Capital Acquisition plans and schemes for procurement of security-related equipment.
Political Affairs: The Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs addresses problems related to Centre-state relations. It also examines economic and political issues that require a wider perspective but have no internal or external security implications.
Investment: The Cabinet Committee on Investment will “identify key projects required to be implemented on a time-bound basis”, involving investments of Rs 1,000 crore or more, or any other critical projects, as may be specified by it, with regard to infrastructure and manufacturing. It will prescribe time limits for giving requisite approvals and clearances by the ministries concerned in identified sectors. It will also monitor the progress of such projects.
Appointments: Cabinet Committee on Appointments is the most vital among all other committees. This panel makes appointments to posts of the three service chiefs, Director General of Military Operations, chiefs of all Air and Army Commands, Director General of Defence Intelligence Agency, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services, Director General of Ordnance Factories, Director General of Defence Estates, Controller General of Defence Accounts, Director of Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, Solicitor-General, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Chairman and Members of the Railway Board, Chief Vigilance Officers in Public Sector Undertakings and Secretariat posts of and above the rank of Joint Secretary in the Central Government. This Committee decides on all important empanelment and shift of officers serving on Central deputation.
Economic Affairs: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs is supposed to review economic trends, problems and prospects “for evolving a consistent and integrated economic policy”, coordinate all activities requiring policy decisions at the highest level, deal with fixation of prices of agricultural produce and prices of essential commodities. It considers proposals for investment of more than Rs 1,000 crore, deal with industrial licensing policies and review rural development and the Public Distribution System.
Parliamentary Affairs: The Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs draws the schedule for Parliament sessions and monitors the progress of government business in Parliament. It scrutinises non-government business and decides which official Bills and resolutions are to be presented.