Will this be the economic dream team?

With the United Progressive Alliance all set to announce the new Cabinet in a few days there are wide spread speculations in the corridors of power in the Capital that Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia may take over as the next finance minister of India.

But reliable sources said that P Chidambaram is not keen on home ministry and would like to get back the finance portfolio.

Others also point out that Pranab Mukherjee, Minister for External Affairs may also become the new finance minister.

High-profile Railway Minister Lalu Prasad's chances of retaining a Cabinet berth appears remote with the Congress making it clear that it would discuss government formation only with pre-poll allies and Lalu's Rashtriya Janata Dal is not.

Experts believe that Mamata Banerjee, leader of the Trinamool Congress will be rewarded with the Rail portfolio for her party's awesome performance in West Bengal.

In 1999, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government and was allocated the Railways Ministry.

However, citing differences with the government she walked out of the NDA Cabinet in 2001.

Even though the Nationalist Congress Party declared its unconditional support to the new UPA government, and said it won't bargain for any portfolio, NCP chief Sharad Pawar is likely to retail the agriculture portfolio.

On June 26, 1991, Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar took over the defence portfolio, in the Narasimha Rao governmnet and continued till March 1993.

Pawar became the chief minister of Maharashtra for the fourth and last time on March 6, 1993.

Pawar also served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008.

Even though the global aviation sector is not really flying high, there seems little doubt that the ministry will be taken away from Praful Patel.

Patel, who owns one of India's biggest bidi and tobacco-derivatives businesses has a chequered career as the aviation minister -- from increasing foreign direct investment in the sector, to merging Air India and Indian Airlines to, Patel indeed opened up India's skies.

Even though his tenure was dogged by controversies over the prices of domestic petroleum products, Rajya Sabha member Murli Deora is all set to retain the portfolio.

Some analysts have however pointed out that it maybe the turn of the junior Deora (Milind) to grab the portfolio.

Skeptics say he is too young to handle such an important portfolio.

Kamal Nath, who joined the Indian National Congress in 1968 as a youth worker was elected to parliament from the Chhindwara (Madhya Pradesh) constituency for the first time in 1980.

The Minister for Commerce and Industry etched a name for himself as tough negotiator, be it at the World Trade Organisation meets or while negotiating bilateral deals.

His tenure has witnessed major trade policy initiatives.

Will Dayanidhi Maran be back as the IT minister? If the pundits are to be believed he may also grab the telecom ministry.

Contesting on a Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam ticket Maran was elected to parliament in 2004, and became the Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology.

He reduced the mobile and landline call rates drastically during his tenure and brought in investments well in excess of $30b for the IT sector alone.

Controversies over the Tata-Rupert Murdoch DTH deal forced Dayanidhi to resign from the Union Cabinet on May 13, 2007.

Kapil Sibal, the Union Minister of Science and Technology believes that these sectors provide the foundation for a modern and resurgent India. He perceives it as a vehicle that can completely transform the life of the common man for the better.

Amongst the most articulate speakers in the Congress Party, Sibal led the first Indian expedition to the Arctic and was responsible for setting up an Indian Research Station 'Himadri' there in July, 2008.

He also led the Indian delegation to the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change at Bali in December 2007.

GenNext leader Jyotiraditya Scindia won the 2009 Lok Sabha election by a record margin of 250,000 votes. It was his third victory in a row.

An MBA in business from the Stanford University, Scindia went to work as an investment banker for Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

The scion of the Scindia royal family of Gwalior, he is is likely to continue as Minister of State for Telecommunications.

Former Enviroment Minister A Raja was made the Communications and Information Technology Minister in place of Dayanidhi Maran, who was forced by the Dravida Munnethra Kazhagam to resign.

But Raja's tenure was dogged by one controversy after the other culminating in Bharatiya Janata Party demanding that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sack Union Telecom Minister A Raja for allegedly helping one of his friends get the franchise of BSNL's new high speed internet service.

The telecom sector too is hoping for a new face to push through reforms.