Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Thursday, May 21, reshuffled key portfolios in his cabinet and inducted 23 newly sworn-in ministers, according to a notification issued by the Lok Bhavan.
The reshuffle includes significant changes in the Finance and Revenue departments, besides the allocation of portfolios to several first-time ministers in the newly formed government.
According to the official press release, Vijay retained core departments including Home, Police, General Administration, and Municipal Administration, and added Special Initiatives, Poverty Alleviation, and Rural Indebtedness to his list of responsibilities. The Women Welfare Department, which was earlier under the Chief Minister, has now been moved elsewhere.
One of the most prominent changes concerns senior leader KA Sengottaiyan, who has been moved out of the Finance department and appointed Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management. His new portfolio includes Revenue Administration, Deputy Collectors, Disaster Management, Bhoodan, Gramadhan, and Legislative Assembly affairs.
The Finance department has now been allocated to N Marie Wilson, MLA from the Dr Radhakrishnan Nagar constituency. The portfolio also includes pensions, pensionary benefits, and planning functions.
Minister N Anand, who was initially assigned Rural Development and Water Resources, will now oversee Rural Development, Panchayats and Irrigation, with Poverty Alleviation and Rural Indebtedness shifted to the Chief Minister.
The government also removed Legislative Assembly-related responsibilities from Law Minister R Nirmalkumar.
Among the newly inducted ministers, Srinath has been assigned Fisheries and Fishermen Welfare, while Kamali S will handle Animal Husbandry. C Vijayalakshmi has been allotted Milk and Dairy Development and RV Ranjithkumar will oversee Forests.
Vinoth has been allocated Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, including horticulture, sugarcane development, and wasteland development.
The cabinet also includes dedicated portfolios for emerging sectors. Kumar R has been appointed Minister for Artificial Intelligence, Information Technology, and Digital Services.
Other appointments include Rajeev for Environment and Climate Change, B Rajkumar for Housing and Urban Development, and V Gandhiraj for Co-operation.
Mathan Raja P has been assigned Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, while Jegadeshwari K will oversee Social Welfare and Women Empowerment, including the Nutritious Meal Programme and social reform initiatives.
The Tourism Department has been allotted to Rajesh Kumar S and M Vijay Balaji has been given Handlooms, Textiles, and Khadi. Logesh Tamilselvan D will head Commercial Taxes and Registration, while Vijay Tamilan Parthiban A takes charge of Transport.
The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department has been assigned to Ramesh, while P Viswanathan will oversee Higher Education, including technical education and science and technology.
Additional portfolios include Non-Resident Tamils Welfare for Thennarasu K, Backward Classes Welfare for V Sampath Kumar, Labour Welfare and Skill Development for Mohamed Farvas J, and Human Resources Management for D Sarathkumar. Vignesh K has been appointed Minister for Prohibition and Excise.