Here's all you need to know about the new Jal Shakti Ministry in the Modi Sarkar 2.0, as promised by the Prime Minister during election campaigning

Narendra Modi has taken the oath-of-office as the Prime Minister of the country for the second time, at the grand swearing-in ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday in which a number of other NDA leaders also took oath as ministers. In the portfolio allocation, which was announced on Friday, a new ministry, Jal Shakti, has been introduced, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s poll promise of providing safe drinking water to people. Member of Parliament from Jodhpur, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who defeated Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot's son Vaibhav Gehlot, will head the Jal Shakti Ministry.

With hours of being allocated the ministry, Shekhawat took the charge of the Ministry. While speaking to media, he said:

"All the water-related works will be merged under one ministry," Shekhawat said after taking the charge. Prime Minister Modi has always emphasized on the importance of clean water. This position is important for me because I will be able to do work for my region in Rajasthan where water is a major problem. But most importantly, water is an issue in the entire country now."

Shri @gssjodhpur taking charge as the Union Minister for Jal Shakti, at Shram Shakti Bhavan, in New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/kD4S16tWpu

— MIB India (@MIB_India) May 31, 2019

Here's all you need to know about the new Jal Shakti Ministry:

• It has been created by reorganizing the earlier Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, which was held by Nitin Gadkari in the previous government. The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation has also been added to it.
   
• During an election rally in Tamil Nadu, PM Modi last month had assured that if voted back to power, his government would ensure the establishment of a separate Jal Shakti Ministry. “After May 23, when the Modi Government will once again assume office, there will be a separate Ministry for Jal Shakti. This Ministry will cater to many aspects relating to water. The NDA govt had devoted a lot of attention to Water resources. There will be a separate ministry for Jal Shakti to ensure clean water and top class irrigation water facilities for the farmers,” Prime Minister Modi had said.
   
• BJP’s manifesto had also promised to set up a unified Ministry of Water to end the water woes in the country.
   
• In the election manifesto released by the party had promised that it will launch ‘Jal Jivan Mission’ under which they will introduce a special programme. ‘Nal se Jal’ to ensure piped water for every household by 2024. After focussing on electricity through Subhagya Scheme and on housing through Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), the Modi government looks set to focus on drinking water.
   
• From April to July every year, the water situation in at least eight states in the country is grim. The Centre recently issued a drought advisory to Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu, asking them to use water judiciously in the coming weeks as water storage in dams dropped to a critical level.
   
• With almost all of rural India depending on monsoon rain for agriculture and domestic purpose, there is a desperate need for water management on a war footing.
   
• The ambit of the ministry will encompass issues ranging from international and inter-states water disputes, the byzantine Namami Gange project, the flagship initiative to clean the Ganges, its tributaries and sub-tributaries and provide clean drinking water.