Nirmala Sitharaman becomes India's first woman Defence Minister after Indira Gandhi

Nirmala Sitharaman has been made India’s new Defence Minister. The announcement was made on Sunday, September 3 in the cabinet reshuffle of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Nirmala Sitharaman received the portfolio after Arun Jaitley decided to let it go and keep only the finance portfolio with himself. He said that he would like to focus his attention entirely on the Finance Ministry.

This appointment makes Sitharaman the first woman after Indira Gandhi to hold the position of defence minister.

Sitharaman was Minister of State for Commerce prior to the rejig as well as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs. She was the party spokesperson when the BJP was in the opposition.

Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi today congratulated union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on her elevation to Cabinet rank.

Proud of her.
She is brilliant in her work.
She has earned her way thru every bit. @nsitharaman
Wish her the best pic.twitter.com/0AihfkR9b1

— Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) September 3, 2017

Sitharaman's elevation was totally out of the blue as Nitin Gadkari's name was also in the vine for the post while others expected Jaitley to keep the post following his success in the Doklam crisis. 

Sitharaman was recently in China for a BRICS meeting where she was engaged in discussions with counterparts even as the protracted India-China border row played out in Doklam.

She is a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka and a former member of National Commission for Women.

News18 reports that by virtue of her elevation she automatically is now part of the all-powerful Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). In the process, the first time MP has leapfrogged over senior party colleagues in the Cabinet. 

• India's Defence Minister
• First woman defence minister
• Nirmala Sitharaman