Jayant Sinha is MoS Civil Aviation in Modi Cabinet reshuffle: 3 likely reasons for being moved from Finance

One big Cabinet reshuffle move that is slowly drawing eyes (apart from Smriti Irani’s exit from HRD), is the decision to move Jayant Sinha from his position as MoS Finance to MoS Civil Aviation. Sinha was widely regarded as a crucial part of the many reforms that the Finance Ministry has initiated.

The Harvard alumnus, former McKinsey worker, has always been seen as the perfect fit in the Finance Ministry under Arun Jaitley. Why then did PM Narendra Modi decide to move him out? Is this really a demotion of sorts as is being made out by many, or a case of needing him to help the aviation fly high? We take a look at three reasons that are doing the rounds, all speculation of course!

1) Supporters say given that Ashok Gajapathi Raju has unveiled the new Civil Aviation policy last month, an eager hand for its implementation would be key to the sector’s revival. Additionally, with reports suggesting that the government may want to sell off the debt-burdened Air India, someone with Jayant Sinha’s experience in accounting and finance, may be just what the Modi government needs.

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2) According to a ToI report, what may have triggered this is a tea party that Jayant Sinha hosted at his home, where bank chiefs and finance ministry officials were invited. The report claimed that Punita Kumar Sinha, Jayant Sinha’s wife, was present at the meeting. Punita is a well known investor and a fund manager. “Jayant Sinha was also seen as someone who had strong views on several issues, such as getting NIIF to invest in a bank-driven stressed asset fund, which did not factor in political implications,” the report said.

3) The third could be Yashwant Sinha’s (Jayant Sinha’s father) severe criticism of the Narendra Modi government. Some believe that this may have cost Jayant Sinha his post as MoS Finance.

Yashwant Sinha has in the past been very vocal of his opinion with regards to the functioning of the government. Recently he had questioned Modi government’s aggressive push for the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) membership.

“India which has shown so much keenness and desperation in getting NSG membership, it is not required at all. We are comfortable outside NSG. If we become members of NSG, we will have more loss. There will be no gains for us,” he had said, alleging that people sitting in the government were “misguiding it everyday”.

Yashwant Sinha had also alleged that India’s current policy with Pakistan was a complete failure and called on the Modi government to take action against the hostile neighbor.

What PM Narendra Modi has in his mind is anybody’s guess and the reason for Jayant Sinha’s portfolio shift would only become clear in the months to come.