What is a Cabinet? Well, it’s a small cupboard. It is also another name for the small group of Ministers who advise the Prime Minister in a country that follows the Cabinet or Parliamentary system of government!
India follows this form of government. Although the constitutional head of the government is the President, he/she actually does not make decisions in running the country.
The governing power lies with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers. The Cabinet helps the Prime Minister make important decisions to do with finance, defence, external affairs, economic policies and other such matters. The Prime Minister relies on these advisors, evaluates their performance constantly, and can change them whenever he or she deems it fit to do so.
PM Modi reshuffled his Cabinet last week. Interestingly, he has appointed Nirmala Sitharaman as the Defence Minister of India. She is only the second woman to ever be appointed to this position (the first being Indira Gandhi who served as the Defence Minister in 1975 and again in 1980–82). With this job, Nirmala Sitharaman has gone from being Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs to heading the third-largest defence force in the world!
Written by: Jahnavi Kohli, a lawyer, writer, and mom!
