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Who was the first full-time woman Defence Minister of India?
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Answer: Option D — Nirmala Sitharaman
Detailed Solution
Nirmala Sitharaman became India's first full-time woman Defence Minister on 3 September 2017, in the cabinet of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She served until May 2019.
Indira Gandhi had held the Defence Ministry earlier (for short periods in 1975 and from 1980 to 1982), but only as an additional charge while she was Prime Minister. So Nirmala Sitharaman is called the first full-time woman Defence Minister.
During her tenure as Defence Minister:
- She flew in a Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter jet (2018).
- She oversaw the "strategic partnership" model for defence manufacturing and focused on the indigenisation of defence equipment.
- She handled matters such as the Rafale fighter jet deal and the response to the Doklam stand-off with China (2017).
In May 2019, she became India's first full-time woman Finance Minister. (Indira Gandhi had also held the finance portfolio, in 1969-70, as Prime Minister.) She presented her first Union Budget on 5 July 2019 and replaced the traditional leather briefcase with a red cloth folder called "bahi-khata". She has presented the most consecutive Union Budgets.
About Nirmala Sitharaman:
- She was born in 1959 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu.
- She studied economics at Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College, Tiruchirappalli, and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.
- She is a member of the Rajya Sabha.
- Forbes has listed her among the world's most powerful women several times.
Other women "firsts" in Indian ministries:
Indira Gandhi: first woman Prime Minister (1966).
Sushma Swaraj: first full-time woman External Affairs Minister (2014-2019). (Indira Gandhi had held the portfolio as PM.)
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur: first Health Minister (1947).
Why not the other options?
- ✗Indira Gandhi held the Defence Ministry only as an additional charge.
- ✗Sushma Swaraj was the first full-time woman External Affairs Minister.
- ✗Smriti Irani has held ministries such as Human Resource Development, Textiles, and Women and Child Development.
Quick tip
Remember: First full-time woman Defence Minister = Nirmala Sitharaman (2017); first full-time woman Finance Minister = also Nirmala Sitharaman (2019); first full-time woman External Affairs Minister = Sushma Swaraj.
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Firsts in India & World — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Firsts in India & World, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the first persons and events in India and the world: the first Indian to win a Nobel Prize, the first woman to hold major offices, the first to climb Everest or reach space, and India's first institutions, newspapers, railways and satellites. It also covers the largest, longest, highest and smallest records in India and the world. These are pure memory questions, so revise them as short lists by theme: first women, first in sports, first in science and space, and first in governance. Be careful with the exact wording, such as 'first Indian' versus 'first person of Indian origin', or 'first woman President' versus 'first woman Prime Minister', since options are often designed to exploit this. Practise the firsts in India and the world questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.