Arun Jaitley back on track as Finance Minister after break of 3 months

NewsBharati    23-Aug-2018
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New Delhi, August 23: After a break of three months for surgery, Arun Jaitley is back on his chair as Finance Minister. President Ram Nath Kovind announced Jaitley’s comeback through a Press Communiqué.


 

"The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed to assign the portfolios of the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs to Arun Jaitley," the Communiqué said.

Jaitely, 65, stopped attending office in April for a renal transplant operation on May 14.

In his absence, Railways Minister Piyush Goyal held charge of his ministry, even as Jaitley held video conferences with officials and addressed events remotely, prompting the opposition to ask who India's finance minister was.

Since his surgery, he has been staying in a controlled environment as per the doctors' advice. He made his first public appearance since his surgery when he recently attended the Rajya Sabha for the election of Deputy Chairman on August 9. In 2014, Jaitley had undergone a gastric bypass operation to keep his diabetes in check.