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40 Years Ago

40 years ago October 23, 1986: Major cabinet reshuffle

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on October 23, 1986.

This is the front page of The Indian Express published on October 23, 1986.

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2 min read Oct 23, 2026 06:40 AM IST First published on: Oct 23, 2026 at 06:40 AM IST

In a major reshuffle, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi inducted Arjun Singh into the cabinet and dropped Arun Nehru. While Singh gets the Communications portfolio, J Vengal Rao has been given Industry. N D Tiwari is the Minister for External Affairs. Shiv Shanker now retains only Commerce.

‘Heavyweights’ inducted

Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi said he had inducted some “heavyweights” into his Council of Ministers to give added dynamism to the government.…