Nirmala Joshi of the first Sisters of the institute to head a foreign mission when she went to Panama. In 1976, Joshi started the contemplative branch of the Missionaries of Charity and remained at its head until 1997, when she was elected to succeed Mother Teresa as Superior General of the institute. The government of India bestowed the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, on Sister Joshi on Republic Day (26 January) 2009 for her services to the nation. Her term as Superior General ended on 25 March 2009, and she was succeeded by German born Sister Mary Prema Pierick. Joshi
Nirmala Sitharaman Hyderabad. Nirmala Sitharaman Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), serving as the Minister of Defence since 2017 and has served as Member of the Rajya Sabha, upper house of the Indian Parliament, since 2016. Sitharaman is India's second female defence minister. Sitharaman has formerly served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and the Minister for Commerce and Industry with independent charge. Prior to that, she has served as a national spokesperson for the BJP. Nirmala was born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu,