Take forward reforms, PM tells Ministers

Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting of the entire Cabinet in New Delhi on Thursday, May 21, 2026, highlighting his government’s reform agenda amid the changing geopolitical situation.

The last such meeting of a full Council of Ministers was held on 4 June 2025. Ministries of labour, energy, commerce, finance, agriculture, railways and even NITI Aayog made presentations on past work as well as future plans. The presentation also stated the goals for these ministries as well as the work already done.

Speaking at the meeting, which lasted several hours, Modi emphasized that the economic reforms put forward last year with measures such as recalibrating the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime should be continued and reforms to be carried forward after 2026 should be planned.

The meeting took place in the backdrop of the US-Iran war and the difficult economic situation that may arise from it, as well as Mr Modi’s appeal in Hyderabad a few days ago, asking Indians to be careful about consumption of major items in India’s import bill.

The Prime Minister’s appeal was for Indians to use fuel wisely, take measures such as working from home and more online meetings rather than face-to-face meetings, give up buying gold for at least a year and give up foreign travel, including all items that make up a large chunk of India’s import bill and its impact on the Current Account Deficit (CAD).

The government is monitoring fuel supply disruptions, inflation and rising oil prices during the US-Iran war.

A high-powered, informal group of ministers, chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, has been constituted by the government to monitor the crisis and recommend measures to deal with disruptions.