New Delhi: There are marginally more women in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh`s team now, with four new women members joining the council of ministers on Sunday.
The council of ministers now has ten women compared to eight before the rejig. Two women ministers resigned just before the reshuffle.
The list of new women ministers inducted includes a cabinet minister, and three ministers of state. The council of ministers now has two cabinet ministers, two ministers of state with independent charge, and six ministers of state, totalling ten.
Chandresh Kumari Katoch is the sole woman to join the ministry with a cabinet rank.
She fills in for Ambika Soni, former information and broadcasting minister who resigned ahead of the reshuffle.
The Cabinet now has two women, the other being Kumari Selja, who heads the social justice and empowerment ministry.
Krishna Tirath, the Women and Child Development Minister, and Jayanthi Natarajan, who heads environment ministry, are ministers of state with independent charge.
To the list of ministers of state, three women have been added.
Ranee Narah is the new minister of state for tribal affairs minister, Deepa Dasmunsi the new minister of state for urban development, and Kruparani Killi the minister of state for communications & information technology.
D Purandeswari, who was earlier minister of state for human resource development, is now minister of state for commerce and industry.
Panabaka Lakshmi and Preneet Kaur are the other women holding minister of state portfolio.
Nationalist Congress Party`s Agatha Sangma had also resigned ahead of the reshuffle.
There are only 11 percent women members in the Lok Sabha and 10.7 percent in the Rajya Sabha.
IANS
