India’s second woman defence minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has been sworn in as Cabinet minister in the Modi Sarkar 2.0.

Nirmala Sitharaman will attend the SCO Defence Ministers' conclave on Monday during which she is likely to press for concerted efforts by the powerful bloc to deal with terrorism and extremism.

Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha Congress candidate Tharoor, on Monday, suffered a freak accident while performing a ritual at a temple near here, leading to eight stitches on his head.

Tharoor, the Thiruvananthapuram MP and party candidate in the April 23 Lok Sabha polls, was injured when the hook of a weighing scale came off and its iron panel hit his head during the "Thulabharam" ritual.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman Friday said her ministry has made a "clear demand" to the Finance Ministry that once defence budget is allocated, the unutilised part of it not be sent back to consolidated fund.  

Sitharaman claimed that Rahul Gandhi at a public rally today said PM Modi has been proven to be guilty of corruption in the Rafale fighter jet deal and of giving air force money to Anil Ambani.

The AFSPA gives the armed forces certain protection from legal action in carrying out their operations in disturbed areas.

Her statement comes two days after Sam Pitroda, chief of Indian Overseas Congress, asked the government to come out with "more facts" on the Balakot air strikes.

Sonu Nigam talked about diverse topics including questions raised around Balakot air strike and the 'keyboard warrior' attitude of youth on social media.

Airport sources said the defence minister had also told officials not to come to the terminal to see her off.

Vijay Gokhale on last Tuesday said the non-military and pre-emptive strike on a Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) training camp in Balakot had killed "very large number" of terrorists, trainers and senior commanders.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday said the Pulwama terror attack, in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed, should not have occurred, but that government's efforts to thwart several attacks had resulted in far lesser terror incidents in the last five years than before 2014.

The officials, who briefed Sitharaman Sunday, told her that the probable cause of the mishap was fire from an overheated silencer of one of the parked cars and accentuated by strong wings, it spread quickly, the spokesman said.

"We have given the contract to HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd) for 83 light combat fighter aircraft. Sukhois are being manufactured in India," she said.

Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi, Sitharaman said, "you can wake one who is sleeping, but how will you wake someone who is acting to sleep."

Rahul also accused Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman of lying in this matter.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Sunday accused the previous UPA government of doing "nothing" during its 10-year rule to upgrade Defence Public Sector Undertakings, two days after a Mirage-2000 crashed in Bengaluru during a sortie killing both the pilots.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman approved procurement of the Sig Sauer rifles which will be used by troops deployed along the nearly 3,600-km border with China.

Addressing Yuva Kranti Yatra at Talkatora Stadium in Delhi, the Congress president alleged that Modi stole opportunities from youth to give Rs. 30,000 crore to Anil Ambani.

Amul's latest caricature shows Vicky Kaushal holding a butter bread in his hand.