Nirmala Sitharaman who has long been praised by the citizens all across the nation for her works has been roped in as the new finance minister in prime minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.
A post-graduate in Economics stream, the 60-year-old Sitharaman became the second woman finance minister of India after Indira Gandhi.
Sitharaman, who became the first full-time woman Defence minister in the first stint of the BJP government, will also chair the Corporate Affairs ministry in the new cabinet.
It should be noted that Indira Gandhi who handled the Defence ministry in 1970-71 as PM had also held additional charge of the Defence ministry.
Nirmala Sitharaman got appointed to the National Commission for Women (2003-05). After a successful three-year journey, she joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2006. When the BJP adopted 33 per cent reservation structure for women all through the party, she was cordially invited to join the National Executive Council.
She was then appointed as a national spokesperson in 2010 and switched from Hyderabad to Delhi. She is still remembered as one of its most effective spokespersons, who boldly launched a scathing attack at Congress government over its several policies.
Nirmala Sitharaman had grown from strength to strength in her career as she became the commerce minister. As years passed, she attained a steep bounce in her personal career as she is now one among the six-woman cabinet ministers in the NDA government and only the second female politicians after Indira Gandhi in Indian history to be at the helm of the defence minister post.
“Congratulations to @nsitharaman on her new role as Finance Minister. As the first woman to helm this crucial portfolio full time, she’s shattered the glass ceiling by all means,” Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba tweeted.
Let’s take a glimpse at the qualifications of Nirmala Sitharaman.
- BA (Economics), Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College in Tiruchirapalli
- MA (Economics), Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi
- MPhil (Economics)
- Assistant to Economist, Agricultural Engineers Association, UK
- Manager, BBC
- Senior Manager of R&D, Price Waterhouse
- Commerce Minister, India
- Defence Minister, India