Nirmala Sitharaman takes charge as India’s full-time first woman defence minister.

Nirmala Sitharaman was given the major post after the reshuffle that happened in the cabinet on Sunday. She was elevated to cabinet rank. She was earlier the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and the Minister of Commerce and Industry. Outgoing defence minister Arun Jaitley gave her a warm welcome. With this, she has become the first full-time woman defence minister of India. Earlier Indira Gandhi too handled the portfolio as an additional responsibility alongside being the Prime Minister.

Mrs Nirmala expressed her gratitude on being assigned the major post. She said how overwhelmed and humbled she was to be bestowed with something that is constantly on her mind. Dairy brand Amul paid tribute to her with a cartoony depiction. They used the phrase ‘Sabka Nirmal Anand’ in the cartoon which means ‘everyone’s moment of bliss!’

This will also be the first time that two ladies are simultaneously holding posts in the cabinet- Sushma Swaraj as the external affairs minister and Nirmala Sitharaman as the defence minister.