NEW DELHI: Ambika Soni, who had served as Minister of Tourism and Minister of Culture in the outgoing UPA Government, is the Information and Broadcasting Minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet.

Soni is from the Rajya Sabha like her predecessor Anand Sharma who was widely being tipped to continue in the same portfolio.

Interestingly, the present Council of Ministers has two Ministers of State in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting - Mohan Jatua and Dr. S Jagathrakshakan.

Sources in the Prime Minister's Office told indiantelevision.com that there was a general perception that the UPA has been voted back to power partly because of the awareness created about its programmes, and the aim of having two MoS was to strengthen this communication.

Elected to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in August 2004, the 67-year-old Soni has served in various capacities after her election to the Upper House in March 1976. She became President of the All India Mahila Congress in 1998 and has been a General Secretary in the All India Congress Committee since 1999. She has also served in many Parliamentary Committees.

While Jatua is the Trinamool Congress member from West Bengal, Jagathrakshakan is from Tamil Nadu and is from the DMK. Both belong to the Lok Sabha, and were sworn in today.