Chennai, May 21 (IANS) In a major political and administrative exercise aimed at strengthening governance and broadening representation, Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay on Thursday carried out the first major expansion of the Tamil Nadu Cabinet, inducting 23 new ministers and simultaneously restructuring key portfolios.

The move significantly expands the administrative structure of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government that assumed office earlier this month.

The cabinet expansion comes less than two weeks after the formation of the Vijay-led government and is being viewed as an effort to accommodate regional, social and alliance considerations while filling several important departments that had remained unassigned during the initial phase of government formation.

Among the politically significant developments was the inclusion of Congress representatives in the ministry.

S. Rajesh Kumar of Killiyoor and P. Viswanathan of Melur were inducted into the cabinet, marking Congress’ entry into the Tamil Nadu government after nearly six decades.

Rajesh Kumar was assigned the Tourism portfolio while Viswanathan was given charge of Higher Education, including Technical Education, Electronics, Science and Technology.

Apart from the induction of new faces, the government also revised responsibilities among senior ministers.

Chief Minister Vijay retained core departments including Home, Police and General Administration, while adding Special Initiatives and Poverty Alleviation-related subjects under his direct control.

Minister N. Anand relinquished poverty alleviation responsibilities, while R. Nirmalkumar’s Law and Energy portfolios underwent modifications.

A major reshuffle involved K.A. Sengottaiyan, who was shifted from Finance to Revenue and Disaster Management.

The crucial Finance, Planning and Development portfolio has now been assigned to the newly inducted minister N. Marie Wilson.

Several long-pending sectors also received dedicated ministers. Agriculture was assigned to Vinoth, Housing to B. Rajkumar, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Services to Kumar R., Labour Welfare and Skill Development to Mohamed Farvas, and Social Welfare and Women Empowerment to Jegadeshwari.

The government also created dedicated responsibilities for Non-Resident Tamils Welfare and AI-driven digital governance initiatives.

Officials said the expansion is expected to improve administrative efficiency while helping the government address sector-specific priorities as it moves into its first full phase of governance.

–IANS

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