New Delhi: The third Narendra Modi government has sworn in seven women ministers, including two holding cabinet rank, marking a slight reduction from the previous council of ministers.
Nirmala Sitharaman and Annpurna Devi were sworn in as cabinet ministers during a grand ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan last evening.
Nirmala Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha MP, has previously held significant portfolios such as finance and defence. Annpurna Devi, a two-time MP from Koderma, has been elevated from the minister of state rank to a cabinet minister position. She served as the junior minister for education in the previous government.
The other women ministers sworn in are Anupriya Patel, Raksha Khadse, Savitri Thakur, Shobha Karandlaje, and Nimuben Bhambaniya.
Anupriya Patel is the leader of Apna Dal (Sonelal), an ally of the BJP. She previously served as the minister of state for health and family welfare in the first Modi government and as the junior minister for commerce and industry in Modi 2.0. Her party's Lok Sabha seat tally decreased from two to one in the recent election.
Raksha Khadse, 37 years old and daughter-in-law of veteran Maharashtra politician Eknath Khadse, is a three-time MP from Raver. She has prior experience as a sarpanch and a member of the Zila Parishad.
Savitri Thakur, a first-time minister in Modi 3.0, is a two-time MP from Dhar. She won the 2014 election and returned strongly in 2024 with a victory margin of over 2 lakh votes, with extensive experience at the panchayat level.
Shobha Karandlaje, a two-time BJP MP from Karnataka, served as a state minister and has been retained in Modi 3.0. She has held portfolios in food processing industries and agriculture and farmers' welfare in the Union government.
Nimuben Bhambaniya, 57 years old and MP from Bhavnagar, is a former teacher and served as Bhavnagar mayor. She has also worked in various organizational roles within the BJP.
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