Arun Jaitley takes charge as FM after a three-month break due to surgery

A little more than three months after Arun Jaitley underwent a successful kidney transplant surgery, he is set to take back charge of Finance and Corporate Affairs Ministry at 11 am today. Piyush Goyal, who was the caretaker Finance Minister in Jaitley’s absence, will continue as Railways and Coal Minister.

Jaitley underwent surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on May 14. He had been keeping unwell since early April due to kidney-related problems and chest infection. The initial assessment by the doctors post-surgery was that he would take at least eight weeks to recover.

The Finance Minister was discharged on June 4 and underwent post-operative recovery at his official residence under the most strict of conditions imposed by the doctors. He wasn’t meeting anyone but close family members and doctors.

He continued working and keeping himself abreast of political and policy developments in the government; interacting with officials through video conferencing. In fact, the day he was discharged from the hospital, he held a meeting with Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg, and the then Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian via video-conferencing.

Even when Subramanian’s farewell was held at Jaitley’s residence in late July, the invitees only interacted with Jaitley through a television screen. He copiously wrote blogs on his official Facebook page on issues ranging from the Rafale deal to the National Registry of Citizenship, from Rahul Gandhi to the achievements of the Modi government, and from Goods and Service Tax to Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.

Post-surgery, Jaitley first made an appearance through live stream on July 1 which was being celebrated as GST day. His first public appearance came on August 10 when he attended Parliament for a day.

Jaitley comes back to North Block to deal with challenges on multiple fronts. There has been a fresh political debate on growth during Manmohan Singh’s time vis-à-vis Modi, due to a report on GDP back series by a government-appointed committee. There is also the matter of aid to flood-hit Kerala.

Ahead of 2019 elections, the centre is still in the process of consolidating its flagship schemes and looking to bolster spending. This even as there are concerns regarding sources of revenue like disinvestment, non-tax revenue and GST.