Overview
Smt. Sitharaman assumed charge as the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs in 2019, when she became the first full-time woman Finance Minister. Her tenure has been marked by numerous reforms in banking, taxation, corporate governance, and crisis management, aimed at strengthening financial institutions, empowering citizens, and enhancing India’s global competitiveness, with a strong focus on strengthening public sector banks, ensuring last mile delivery of services to the poor, advancing a non-adversarial and citizen-centric tax system, and delivering tangible relief to the middle class.
Notable reforms during her tenure have included the amalgamation of 10 public sector banks into 4 stronger entities; a five-fold increase in deposit insurance cover; the new optional income tax regime, Taxpayer Charter, and Faceless Appeals; decriminalisation of procedural offences under the Companies Act; and scrapping of retrospective taxation. She also announced the landmark ₹20 lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat package during COVID-19, steered the new Income Tax Act, 2025, and chaired the GST Council in approving Next-Gen GST reforms to simplify structures and reduce compliance costs.
Key Highlights
- India’s G20 Finance Track
Leadership Engagement across global discussions on macroeconomic stability, development finance, debt relief, and multilateral financial reform under India’s G20 Presidency. - Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council
Central role in India’s indirect tax reform architecture, including rate rationalisation, cooperative federalism, and consensus-based fiscal decision-making. - Next-Generation GST Reforms
Introduction of the next phase of GST reforms aimed at simplifying compliance, enhancing transparency, improving taxpayer experience, and strengthening revenue efficiency through technology-led and process-driven changes.
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