Nirmala Sitharaman to be new Defence Minister

September 03, 2017 13:17

Nirmala Sitharaman, who was elevated to Cabinet rank this morning, has been handed over the Defence portfolio, reports NDTV.

Just minutes ago, it was reported that Arun Jaitley would be handing over the defence portfolio after it was earlier announced that he would keep defence and finance with him.

Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka, will be India's first female defence minister after Indira Gandhi.

Jaitley leaves for Japan tonight for a day to attend an international meeting of Defence Ministers. Sources said the change in portfolios will happen once he is back on Tuesday evening.

Hardeep Singh Puri will be the MoS for commerce.

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Relay star wants to set an example for Indian athletes

'if my body is giving me company why should I stop the sport? Some foreign athletes run till 35 or 37. So I wanted to set an example for other athletes that age does not matter,' says MR Poovamma, Arjuna Awardee and the senior-most...

IPL PIX: SKY smashes ton as MI ease past SRH

Suryakumar Yadav smashed an unbeaten century as Mumbai Indians eased past Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets.

Karnataka let Prajwal leave the country says Modi

Modi told Times Now that the responsibility to take action in the raging matter lay with the state government as it was a law and order issue, according to the transcript of the interview provided by the broadcaster.

The man behind Kuldeep's improved batting...

In India's 4-1 triumph over England at home, Kuldeep contributed with not just the ball but also the bat. He scored 97 runs in six innings at an average of 19.40, with the best score of 30.

After Delhi, schools in Ahmedabad get bomb threat mails

Polling in 25 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will be held on May 7.