India gets its second woman defence minister, Twitteratti couldn’t be more proud

Soon after the news broke out of Sitharaman’s new portfolio, Twitterrati hailed it as a historic moment for India, making #NirmalaSitaraman trend on the microblogging site.

Nirmala Sitharaman emerged as one of the biggest gainers in the Cabinet reshuffle on Sunday as prime minister Narendra Modi gave her the charge of defence ministry. Sitharaman became the only second woman to hold the crucial position after Indira Gandhi, India’s first woman prime minister.

Sitharaman became the only second woman to hold the crucial position after Indira Gandhi, India’s first woman prime minister. (HT File photo)

A JNU alumna, Sitharaman, who was holding the Commerce portfolio, was promoted to the Cabinet rank after a major rejig carried out by the Modi government.

Soon after the news broke out, Twitterrati hailed it as a historic moment for India, making #NirmalaSitaraman trend on the microblogging site.

#nirmalasitaraman became a trending hashtag after cabinet reshuffle @TrendsmapIndia

Sitaraman joins a small group of women defence ministers across the globe. (See the full list here)

(With inputs from PTI)