MODI TAKES OATH AS PM FOR 3RD TERM

31 Cabinet ministers, five Ministers of State with Independent Charge) and 36 Ministers of State also sworn in

PM-designate Narendra Modi took oath as Prime Minister of India for his third successive term on Sunday at an impressive ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan which is being attended by leaders from India’s neighbourhood and Indian Ocean region.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

■Modi first became Prime Minister in 2014 and then returned to office in 2019.

■He is the second Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to be elected for a third consecutive term.

■ He was re-elected to Lok Sabha from Varanasi.

■ Nearly 9,000 people were estimated to be present at the forecourts of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to witness the swearing-in ceremony.

■ Political leaders and eminent persons from different walks of life attended the oath-taking ceremony.

■ Members from the transgender community as well as sanitation workers and labourers, who were involved in the construction of the new Parliament building, also attended the swearingin ceremony.

■ PM Modi has laid thrust on the motto of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas' and on "development-oriented and corruption-free governance"

President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Narendra Modi, followed by other members of his team of ministers.

PM Modi was seen wearing a full-sleeved white kurta with churidar and blue half jacket.

The swearing-in ceremony is being attended by Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Bhutan PM Tshering Tobgay, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina and Seychelles Vice President Ahmed Afif. Apart from two terms as Prime Minister beginning 2014, Narendra Modi also has the distinction of being the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat with his term spanning from October 2001 to May 2014.