Economics
India Gets First Woman Finance Minister in Years to Spur Economy
- Reviving growth in world’s largest economy is key challenge
- Sitharaman served as India’s defense and trade minister
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Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed India’s first woman finance minister in almost five decades to steer the economy through a rocky patch of weak growth and mounting global risks.
In a surprise move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi picked Sitharaman to succeed Arun Jaitley, who chose not to take an active role in the new government because of health reasons. A former defense and trade minister, Sitharaman becomes the first woman to hold the position after Indira Gandhi, who had the post concurrently when she was prime minister.