Nirmala Sitharaman: Sole Woman in PM Narendra Modi’s Cabinet for the Third Time

In PM Modi’s last term, Ms Sitharaman handled the finance portfolio and is credited with carrying forward second-generation economic reforms. She was inducted into PM Modi’s cabinet in 2014 as the industry and commerce minister and was given the defence portfolio in 2017.

When then finance minister Arun Jaitley fell ill after the 2019 general elections, Ms Sitharaman became the first woman to be given charge of the finance portfolio for a full term. Before her, Indira Gandhi had held finance as an additional portfolio for a brief duration during her tenure as Prime Minister of India.