Nirmala Sitharaman took charge of the Ministry of Finance and Corporate Affairs today (Wednesday, June 12, 2024).

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

This is the second consecutive term for Sitharaman as she was also the finance minister in the previous government. She is slated to soon present the final Budget for FY '25.

Upon her reaching the North Block office on Wednesday, Sitharaman was greeted by Finance Secretary TV Somanathan and other top officials.

Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary was also present to greet her. Chaudhary assumed charge on Tuesday evening.

Sitharaman is set to create a record by presenting the seventh Budget in a row and sixth full Budget consecutively.

A Full Budget for FY 25 is likely to be presented to the newly elected 18th Lok Sabha next month.

Sitharaman created a record when she was appointed as the first female Defence Minister in 2017. Prior to that, she was industry and commerce minister.

When her mentor Arun Jaitley (Finance Minister 2014-19) fell ill, Sitharaman was given the charge of the finance portfolio in the newly re-elected Modi government after the 2019 general elections.

She became the first full-time woman Finance Minister in Independent India.

Earlier, Indira Gandhi had held finance as an additional portfolio for a short duration when she was the prime minister of India.

Soon after Sitharaman took over in 2019, the first major reform was a cut in base corporate tax to 22 per cent from 30 per cent.

(With inputs from PTI)