In a recent reshuffle of Narendra Modi led NDA government, nine new ministers were inducted into the council of ministers, and four have been promoted to the Union Cabinet. The four candidates, Raj Kumar Singh (IAS), Alphons Kannanthanam (both IAS), Hardeep Singh Puri (IFS) and Satya Pal Singh (IPS) who took oath yesterday as a part of induction in the cabinet are retired bureaucrats and two of them are not even Member of Parliament (MPs)

Stressing on the need to reorganize government performance and efficiency ahead of the 2019 national elections, the selection and promotion of the new candidates were guided by Modi’s 4P competency framework: passion, performance, professional and political acumen. 

According to a media report, a senior representative said, “In continuance of his track record of identifying his fellow team members on the merit of their past performance and future potential, the new ministers have been selected by the prime minister with a clear mandate to deliver on his vision of a New India. “ 

In addition to these nine appointments, Modi government announced a landmark appointment- Nirmala Sitharaman as Defence Minister.

On Sitharaman's appointment as Defence Minister, Arun Jaitley shared in media, “It is a case where a minister performs well and earns a higher responsibility for herself.” 

The reshuffle and new appointments in the BJP government suggest that the Prime Minister has considered performance over caste and politics.