Modi 2.0 Cabinet: Nirmala Sitharaman, the trusted lieutenant of the PM

One of the ministers whom Modi seems to trust, Sitharaman is the only woman other than Indira Gandhi to have held the Defence portfolio

Nirmala Sitharaman was administered the oath of office by President Ram Nath Kovind at the swearing-in of the new government at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.

Nirmala Sitharaman was the Defence Minister in the first Modi administration. She was made a Minister of State in the Narendra Modi Cabinet in 2014 and given the portfolio of commerce and industry minister with independent charge.

One of the ministers whom Modi seems to trust, Sitharaman is the second woman to hold the Defence portfolio after Indira Gandhi. Though Sitharaman did not make inroads in overhauling defence procurement, she was at the helm