New Delhi: Nirmala Sitharaman was the first woman to be appointed full-time Defence Minister of India in September 2017 -- and since then she has been assiduously trying to adopt a holistic approach in addressing the country's security challenges. 60-year-old Sitharaman, a Rajya Sabha member, is the second woman to take charge of the crucial ministry after Indira Gandhi who as the Prime Minister also held the portfolio in the seventies.

One of BJP's chief spokespersons before its ascent to power, Sitharaman is an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University and London School of Economics. As the Defence Minister, Sitharaman attempted to strengthen the Army, Navy and the Air Force and was credited for expediting the decision making process relating to defence procurement. She constituted a Defence Planning Committee to formulate an "action plan" to effectively deal with various security challenges facing the nation. However, her biggest moment came when India carried out air strikes on a terrorist training camp in Pakistan's Balakot, seen as major policy shift in the country's efforts to deal with cross border terrorism.