The Young Chronicle: For 4th Graders November 14th, 2014

YOUNG CHRONICLE November 14th, 2014 General The mighty African Lion in trouble? What is the Cabinet of Ministers? Rambo and Pranks had been wondering what the swearing ceremony was all about. They were curious to know why so many ministers were being inducted now, when the elections were long over. Mummy then explained that certain ministers had a huge portfolio and were leaving charge of some of their ministries and so new people had to be brought in. This confused Rambo and Pranks even more. What was a cabinet, and why were these ministers even needed? Papa then pitched in. Looks like the most majestic cat in the world is in trouble. The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has asked for African Lions to be listed as “threatened”, under the Endangered Species Act. They fee, that doing so could save the Lion from becoming an endangered species. In 1980, there were 75,800 African Lions predicted to be alive. Today, they say, the number has dropped by 30%. About 70% of all Lions today inhabit just 10 areas in Eastern and Southern Africa. Unless the situation improves, the Lions face the risk of Extinction. The USFWS also feels that this listing will discourage humans from inhabiting their habitats, and hunting Lions to use as trophies. Listing the Animal as a threatened species would also bring to the notice of people,that the species is in danger. People see animals in National Parks, and have a misconception that they are still huge in number. This misconception needs to be broken. The Cabinet of India is a collective decision making body of the Government of India. Under the cabinet, each possible aspect of the government is covered. Each aspect, like Finance, Economy, Human Resource, Railways, Defence etc, is covered. These aspects are called ministries. Each ministry is headed by a Cabinet Minister, and assisted by a Minister of State. The Prime Minister heads the Cabinet. Essentially, it is the job of the Cabinet Ministers to brief the PM on the progress in their respective ministries, decide the development areas, and bridge the gap. What are the Main ministries in India, and which ministers head them? Rajnath Singh: Home Minister Sushma Swaraj: External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs Arun Jaitley: Finance, Corporate Affairs, Information & Broadcasting Venkaiah Naidu: Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Parliamentary Affairs Nitin Jairam Gadkari: Road Transport and Highways Manohar Parrikar: Defence minister Suresh Prabhu: Railways Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda: Minister of law and justice Ram Vilas Paswan: Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ravi Shankar Prasad: Communications and Information Technology Smriti Zubin Irani: Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Harsh Vardhan: Science and Technology, Earth Sciences Page 4 14/11/14

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