Appraisal time in PM Modi's government; ministers of state to make presentations on achievement

NEW DELHI: It's appraisal time for junior ministers in the Union government. Ministers of state who report to Cabinet ministers have started making presentations to PM Modi. The presentation includes telling the PM of what they have achieved and areas where they can improve.

This is the first of its kind of exercise by the Prime Minister's Office. Some of the MoSes confirmed to ET about presentations at the PMO and that performance review will be the key focus of the meetings. There are around 25 MoSes who report to Cabinet ministers in the Modi government. The ministers and officials spoke to ET on condition they not be identified.

During the presentation, junior ministers will talk about work allocated to them, goals, targets achieved in the past one year and roadmap. “They will also be required to talk about performance as junior ministers and what they have delivered in the past one year,” said a senior official who is part of the exercise. Sources said an internal rating for each minister is also on the cards. The assessment may pave the way for a reshuffle in work allocation if the minister is not interested/shows a poor record in performance.

An MoS said: "Some of us have included our work as MPs in our constituency, which is related to work allocation as ministers." Official sources said the evaluation will also be done on steps that can be taken for successful completion of projects that are stuck — how to overcome problems identified by MoS. During one such presentation last week, a minister was asked to speak about his performance beside the presentation.

The exercise has been on since last week. Junior ministers in HRD and rural development have already made presentations. In the upcoming review, ministers of state in the home ministry will make presentations on internal security, J&K, issues related to FCRA violations, including cancellation of licences of Greenpeace and action taken against Ford Foundation, officials said. The tribal affairs minister's presentation was postponed twice.