New Delhi, September 3 (newsin.asia): Dr.Nirmala Sitharaman, who was sworn in as India’s Defense Minister in the cabinet reshuffle here on Sunday, will be its first “full time” woman Defense Minister and the second woman to hold the prestigious post.
Indira Gandhi, had had additional charge of the Defense Ministry when she was Prime Minister.
In Sunday’s Indian cabinet reshuffle. Sitharaman has been shifted from Commerce (Independent Charge) to Defense with cabinet rank.
Born on August 18, 1959, Nirmala Sitharaman had served as Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and Minister for Commerce and Industry with independent charge. Before that she was a national spokesperson for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
She is member of the Rajya Sabha (The Indian Upper House) from Karnataka state.
Sitharaman was born in Madurai in Tamil Nadu to Narayanan Sitharaman and Savitri.[ She obtained a B.A. degree from Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College, Tiruchi, and an MA degree in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1980 followed by a Ph.D on Indo-European textile trade within the GATT framework.
Sitharaman then served at Price Waterhouse Coopers as Senior Manager and later for the BBC World Service.She was formerly a member of the National Commission on Women.
(The featured image at the top shows Nirmal Sitharaman)