EXPLAINED: ‘Modi Cabinet rejig overall positive; Puri’s skills as diplomat to aid India in oil price negotiations; textiles to Goyal welcome move’

Hardeep Singh Puri’s induction as Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas will help India’s cause significantly as the country’s crude oil imports from Saudi Arabia have been very expensive, Market Analyst Ajay Bagga said in an exclusive chat with Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi. He said that Puri has been a career diplomat and his skills will be used by the government to negotiate prices. India is currently procuring crude oil from Saudi Arabia, South America and the US. 

He further said that India should also now press its demand for being allowed to import oil from Iran just like China does and must cite its financial difficulties. Iranian oil can easily come into India, he further said. Puri’s appointment in this ministry could augur well for the country as his skill as a diplomat will come handy, going forward, Bagga said.

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There are 53 ministries which will be overlooked by 32 ministers so there are a lot of combinations.  

Bagga sees this massive cabinet rejig exercise undertaken by the Narendra Modi Government as a well thought of move, likening it to a launchpad for 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections and 2024 general election. Governments run on political capital and in 2019, when this government was re-elected, there was a lot of political capital, this expert said. 

He also said that the textile industry has a lot of potential and is a big job creator and handing it over to Piyush Goyal was a welcome move.  

He was also in praise of Government’s decision to merge Ministry of Education with Skill Development as both are interrelated.  

He also said that bringing Railways and Information Technology under one umbrella and appointing a technocrat was also a good move. BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha, Ashwini Vaishnaw, is the new Railways Minister and will head the Ministries of Communications, and Electronics and Information Technology Information. 

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He also said that the aviation sector could also get a fillip with the induction of Jyotiraditya Scindia. He is expected to bring a fresh thinking and energy to the sector, Bagga further said.  

This is an overall positive for the government, he said.