Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Cabinet reshuffle had a surprise — Nirmala Sitharaman as the new Defence Minister.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who also held the Defence portfolio, had been vocal in expressing his desire to offload the additional responsibility.

The clamour for a full-time Defence Minister has been getting louder in the recent weeks.

However, it was only after Amarnath Yatra pilgrims’ bus was attacked in July, that the government firm up its mind to appoint one, sources told BusinessLine .

Sitharaman, who has been elevated from the rank of Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Commerce and Industry, enters South Block at a time when India is set to take a quantum leap in self-reliance and indigenisation of defence armaments while bringing far-reaching reforms in the armed forces.

Defence deals The government is also looking at deals worth over ₹50,000 crore that are in the pipeline, including procurement of battle tanks, fighter jets, frigates, submarines and several other weapons as India faces geopolitical challenges.

As Commerce and Industry Minister Sitharaman had faced serious challenges of reviving India’s exports that had plummeted due to weak external demand. She also played a major role in negotiating at the multilateral bodies such as WTO.

As the new the Defence Minister, Sitharaman will also have to grapple with optimising defence expenditure, a move recently approved by the Cabinet.

She has to also fulfil a long pending task to create the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) based on a recommendation made by Group of Ministers in 2001. Under her tenure, the role of women in the combat posts may get a boost.

“She is an excellent choice for the Defence Minister’s post. She will see that the requirements of the forces are met and she has that calibre. The importance of this portfolio is huge and it is well timed decision and bodes well for the armed forces,” said AY Tipnis, former Air Force chief.

“I hope as a full time Defence Minister, she will be able to put her focus and roll out India’s ‘National Security Vision’ that will spell out the country’s strategic vision and defence needs. A Defence Minister today faces lot of external challenges which entails constant dialogue with the US, China, Russia and others. I hope she will be able to do that. Moreover, her being the party spokesperson for a long time also helps,” said Lieutenant General DS Hooda, former Northern Army Commander. Interestingly, Sitharaman’s appointment was announced on the day Modi left for China and in the backdrop of the two-month long military stand-off with Beijing in the Doklam region.

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