Prime Minister Narendra Modi will meet his entire council of ministers on Wednesday evening for a mid-term review of his government’s performance ahead of crucial assembly elections in several states.
The meeting – only the second time Modi will meet all his ministers since May, 2014 – also comes ahead of the budget session next month and amidst speculation of a reshuffle in the cabinet.
“The Prime Minister will review the decisions taken by the Cabinet and the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) in the last one-and-a-half year. It’s the first time the Prime Minister will carry out such an exercise,” a source said.
Assembly elections are due this year in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the ruling BJP-led NDA will face the voters for the first time since the Bihar debacle last year.
While refusing to comment on whether Modi will reshuffle his team before the budget session, the source added, “The exercise will give a fair idea of the performers and laggards in the government. The idea is to identify areas where the performance of ministries is not upto the mark and do a course correction.”
Modi had met his entire ministry on May 16, 2014 after taking charge of the government. He had met his senior cabinet colleagues again last December.
An official who did not want to be quoted said the PMO, which closely monitors the functioning of different ministries, has already prepared inputs for the meeting.
“With the government’s thrust on pushing infrastructure projects, key CCEA decisions related to big ticket projects would also be reviewed,” the official added.
The meeting comes close on the heels of presentations made by group of secretaries to the Prime Minister over the last fortnight on ideas to improve key areas of governance.
