India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (7th L) and President Ramnath Kovind (8th L) pose with the newly sworn-in ministers after a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in New Delhi, India, September 3, 2017. REUTERS/Prakash Singh/Pool
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Nirmala Sitharaman as defence minister on Sunday as part of a cabinet reshuffle, as he seeks to get economic growth back on track and modernise the armed forces before national elections in 2019.
Sitharaman, 58, who was promoted from being a junior trade minister, becomes the first female defence minister since Indira Gandhi was in charge of the department when she was prime minister 35 years ago.
