PM Modi's big ministers' meeting today: West Asia impact, Cabinet reshuffle on the table

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a full Council of Ministers meeting at 4 pm on Thursday at Seva Teerth in Delhi, his first major government-level engagement after returning from his foreign tour. All Union Cabinet ministers, ministers of state with independent charge and ministers of state have been asked to remain in the national capital and are expected to attend.

The timing and the mandatory presence signal the agenda's weight. Two issues are expected to dominate: the ongoing West Asia conflict and its economic impact on India, and growing speculation over a Cabinet reshuffle ahead of the Modi 3.0 government's first anniversary on June 10.

West Asia crisis on the table

Sources told India Today that the West Asia conflict and its implications for the Indian economy are expected to feature prominently in Thursday's discussions. The government has been tracking oil prices, fuel supply chains and inflation closely as regional tensions have escalated.

A high-powered informal group of ministers led by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has already been constituted to monitor the crisis and recommend measures to shield India from disruptions. Union ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman and Hardeep Singh Puri are part of the group. Singh recently said the government was maintaining "round-the-clock monitoring" of the situation.

"Whether it is crude oil, energy, or LPG even today, we have enough stocks. There is no particular problem," Singh had said, offering the government's most recent public assessment of the supply situation.

PM Modi is expected to review the evolving picture directly after returning from his foreign visit, with Thursday's meeting providing the formal setting for that review.

Reshuffle speculation intensifies

The meeting has acquired additional political significance given the timing. Sources had indicated last week that discussions around a Cabinet expansion and reshuffle were gaining momentum, with changes to the Union Council of Ministers potentially coming in the second week of June, just around the government's first anniversary.

The government leadership has been reviewing the performance of ministries and assessing organisational functioning as part of the groundwork for any possible exercise. Thursday's meeting of all ministers, called just weeks ahead of that window, adds to the speculation that the reshuffle conversation is moving from informal to formal.