The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, has decided to keep the Finance portfolio for now. He will keep the portfolio till any further announcement is made. This will be second time during the eight-year-old UPA Government’s regime that the Prime Minister is keeping the Finance portfolio.
Earlier in 2008, when the then Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, shifted to the Home Ministry, the Prime Minister did not appoint any one on the same day and kept the Finance portfolio with himself.
However, in the current economic situation, the big question is how he will manage such an important portfolio? It is believed that the Prime Minister may get help from two of his most trusted people to manage this.
He may bring Dr C. Rangarajan into the Prime Minister's Office as Minister without any portfolio. This would allow Dr Rangarajan to be inducted into the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). He and the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, along with the Prime Minister, would then run the Finance Ministry.
Minister of State
Simultaneously, one more Minister of State could be appointed in the Finance Ministry. The new appointee would manage the day-to-day affairs and share the responsibility of answering Parliament questions with the other two Ministers of State in the Ministry.
The option of appointing a full-fledged Cabinet Minister is always available. It could be either Mr Jairam Ramesh or Mr Anand Sharma. Mr Chidambaram is also said to be keen on getting back his old portfolio.