New Delhi:
Nisith Pramanik, the youngest minister in the government, and Ajay Kumar took charge as Union ministers of state for home at their offices in the North Block on Thursday.
Pramanik (35), a Lok Sabha MP from Cooch Behar in West Bengal, and Kumar (60), a Lok Sabha MP from Kheri in Uttar Pradesh, were sworn in as Union ministers on Wednesday evening.
Soon after taking charge, Pramanik said he is grateful for the opportunities bestowed on him by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said he would work hard to discharge his duties with all sincerity and dedication.
Kumar said he is grateful to Modi and Shah for giving him the opportunity to work on security issues.
Senior officials of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) were present when Pramanik and Kumar took charge.
Pramanik, a former teacher of a primary school, is the youngest member in the Union Council of Ministers.
The MHA now has three ministers of state — Pramanik, Kumar and Nityanand Rai.
Rai, along with G Kishan Reddy, had joined the home ministry as junior ministers in 2019, when the Modi government assumed charge for the second time.
Reddy was elevated and sworn in as a cabinet minister on Wednesday.
He has been given the charge of the Ministries of Tourism, Culture and Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
After a long time, the home ministry has got three ministers of state.
There were three Union ministers of state for home in the first UPA government led by Manmohan Singh.
The prime minister effected a major reshuffle in the Union Cabinet on Wednesday, dropping 12 ministers and bringing in 36 new members.
