Arun Jaitley assumes charge of defence ministry

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today took additional charge of the Defence Ministry, a dual position he had held for around six months in 2014.

Mr. Jaitley was given the charge of the Defence Ministry yesterday after Manohar Parrikar stepped down from the position to go back to Goa to become its Chief Minister.

Mr. Jaitley, one of the senior most ministers in the Modi cabinet, was in-charge of Defence Ministry between May 26 to November 9 in 2014, before Mr. Parrikar was brought in from Goa.

Mr. Parrikar’s tenure as Defence Minister saw clearance of a raft of arms deals besides simplification of the acquisition process. He had also pushed for a number of stalled acquisition projects.

A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique had yesterday said that as advised by the Prime Minister, the President has directed that Mr. Jaitley shall be assigned the charge of the Defence Ministry in addition to his existing portfolios.

It is not clear for how long Mr. Jaitley will keep the two key portfolios.