Modi’s Key Woman Needs Strongman-Handling Skills
Nirmala Sitharaman will be India’s first full-time female finance minister. Her boss may have his own ideas about what that should entail.
Wanted: politician with a gift for managing up.
Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/BloombergPartly by default, and partly by design, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed to assemble a newish-looking team for his second term. Hopefully, the freshness will carry over to ideas.
The top job in the finance ministry opened up as Arun Jaitley, who held the position during Modi’s first five-year term, made himself unavailable for health reasons. The prime minister picked Nirmala Sitharaman to become India’s first full-time female finance minister.1 Sitharaman previously handled defense and commerce but lacks the experience typical for what’s traditionally considered the cabinet’s No. 2 job, having been a member of parliament for only five years. Several of India’s past finance ministers have gone on to become prime ministers and presidents.