 "Nirmala Sitharaman")
The government, facing criticism over the absence of a full-time defence minister since March, when Manohar Parrikar moved back to Goa, has promoted the erstwhile minister for commerce and industry, Nirmala Sitharaman, to head the ministry of defence (MoD) as a full Cabinet minister.
Sitharaman will assume charge of the MoD on Tuesday, when the outgoing defence minister, Arun Jaitley, returns from an official visit to Japan.
She will be India’s first woman defence minister after Indira Gandhi, who served twice in that post – briefly for a few months in 1975, and then again from 1980-82. The apex Cabinet
Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.'%3E%3Cg id='Artboard-Copy' transform='translate(0 0.012)'%3E%3Cg id='_126115' transform='translate(0 0)'%3E%3Cpath id='Path' d='M17.537 1.487a.473.473 0 0 0-.467.477v12.67A2.4 2.4 0 0 1 14.7 17.06H3.3A2.4 2.4 0 0 1 .933 14.634V.966H14.587v12.29a.467.467 0 0 0 .933 0V.489a.473.473 0 0 0-.467-.477H.467A.473.473 0 0 0 0 .489V14.63a3.346 3.346 0 0 0 3.3 3.382H14.7A3.346 3.346 0 0 0 18 14.63V1.965a.467.467 0 0 0-.462-.478Z' transform='translate(0 -0.012)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Path-2' d='M12.676 3.955a.478.478 0 1 0 0-.955H2.508a.478.478 0 1 0 0 .955Z' transform='translate(0.124 0.166)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Path-3' d='M12.676 13H2.508a.478.478 0 1 0 0 .955H12.672a.478.478 0 1 0 0-.955Z' transform='translate(0.124 0.768)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Shape' d='M2 6v5.371a.484.484 0 0 0 .467.5H7.531a.484.484 0 0 0 .467-.5V6a.484.484 0 0 0-.467-.5H2.467A.484.484 0 0 0 2 6Zm.933.5H7.066v4.375H2.933Z' transform='translate(0.122 0.317)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Path-4' d='M12.321 5.5H8.967a.478.478 0 1 0 0 .955h3.354a.478.478 0 1 0 0-.955Z' transform='translate(0.517 0.317)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Path-5' d='M12.321 8H8.967a.478.478 0 1 0 0 .955h3.354a.478.478 0 1 0 0-.955Z' transform='translate(0.517 0.467)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3Cpath id='Path-6' d='M12.788 10.977a.473.473 0 0 0-.467-.477H8.967a.478.478 0 1 0 0 .955h3.354a.471.471 0 0 0 .467-.478Z' transform='translate(0.517 0.617)' fill='%23c4132a'%3E%3C/path%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/g%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
Preferential invites to Business Standard events.
Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.