Railway Minister Piyush Goyal was on Friday given additional charge of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, a day after the death of Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
"The President of India, as advised by the Prime Minister, has directed that Piyush Goyal, Cabinet Minister, be assigned the charge of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, in addition to his existing portfolios," said a communique from the President's office.
Earlier, the Union Cabinet met and condoled the demise of the LJP chief, and also observed silence for two minutes in his memory.
The Cabinet approved a state funeral for Paswan and passed the following resolution: "The Cabinet expresses profound sorrow over the sad demise of Ram Vilas Paswan, Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution. In his passing away, the nation has lost an eminent leader, a distinguished parliamentarian and an able administrator."
Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad will represent the central government at the state funeral of Paswan in Patna.
The funeral is likely to take place in Patna on Saturday. Paswan's mortal remains would be flown to Patna in a special aircraft, PTI reported citing sources.
