(FE)
Union minister Arun Jaitley, who had undergone a kidney transplant surgery on May 14, has been assigned the portfolio of finance and corporate affairs, and is scheduled to resume charge as finance minister today. President Ram Nath Kovind has directed to assign portfolios of Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs to Arun Jaitley. Arun Jaitley will take charge as the finance minister at 11 am today. Notably, Arun Jaitley, who is back after 3-month long hiatus.
During his indisposition, Piyush Goyal had assumed additional responsibility of the finance and corporate affairs portfolio, even as he retained heavyweight portfolios like Railways and Coal. Notably, Piyush Goyal had got a leg-up Goyal during the Cabinet reshuffle last September when he was elevated to Cabinet rank and assigned the politically important Railways Ministry. In the 3-month long disposition, Arun Jaitley had been quite active on social media — writing blogs on various economic and non-economic issues, like National Register for Citizens (NRC) in Assam, over four-decades of Emergency, No-confidence Motion in Parliament, Rafael fighter jet deal, and GST. Notably, Jaitley was also seen in a couple of events like banking conclave and the first anniversary of the launch of Goods and Services Tax (GST) through video conferencing. Arun Jaitley has been the Finance Minister since the Modi government assumed office in May 2014. He is also the leader of the Rajya Sabha.
