PM Modi Cabinet 3.0: What's the difference between Cabinet Minister and Minister of State? How much salary do they get?

PM Narendra Modi took oath for the third consecutive term as the Prime Minister on Sunday evening. Previously, Modi took oath as the Prime Minister on May 26, 2014 and May 30, 2019. 

Besides him, nearly 72 Union Cabinet ministers and Ministers of State were also administered the oath of office by President Droupadi Murmu. Let’s look at the difference between the Cabinet ministers and Ministers of state.

The Prime Minister is the leader and heads the Council of Ministers comprising Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State. A Cabinet minister is a member of the Union and heads a ministry.

Ministers of State (MoS) are of two levels. While a few junior ministers are given MoS berths as independent charges and need not report to any Cabinet minister. Some others are appointed as MoS deputy ministers who report to a Cabinet minister. The deputy ministers are usually given a specific responsibility in that ministry.

There can be a Deputy Prime Minister too who would serve as Prime Minister in case of his absence. He is the senior-most Cabinet minister.

The salary and allowances for Lok Sabha members are comprised by the Salary Act. Each member receives a basic salary of ₹1 lakh per month, along with ₹70,000 as constituency allowance and ₹60,000 for office expenses.

Prime Ministers and Ministers get an extra sumptuary allowance for hospitality: ₹3,000 for the PM, ₹2,000 for Cabinet Ministers, ₹1,000 for Ministers of State with independent charge, and ₹600 for other Ministers of State.

Thus, total monthly compensation is approximately ₹2.30 lakhs for MPs, slightly greater for Ministers.