P. Sabitha Indra Reddy becomes first female Home Minister of Andhra Pradesh, India.

Sabita has close ties with state’s chief minister; she is among six women to find a place in his cabinet

P. Sabita Indra Reddy is making headlines in India today, after she was chosen by Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, chief minister of the Andhra Pradesh state, to be the state's first woman minister.

Andhra Pradesh is on the eastern coast of India and is India’s fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Hyderabad. Sabita, 46, replaced K. Jana Reddy as the chief minister shuffles around his cabinet for his second term.

In her new post, Sabita will be in charge of general police administration, jails and correctional services, fire and emergency services and sainik welfare. The third-time legislator is the widow of P. Indra Reddy, who served as home minister in N.T. Rama Rao’s cabinet and who died in 2000 in a road accident. She is extremely close with the chief minister, Rajasekhara Reddy, who calls her his adopted sister.

"It’s so thrilling that I have become the Home Minister, a post once held by my late husband Indra Reddy. I am extremely thankful to the Chief Minister for this," Sabita said.

Sabita is among six women — J. Geetha Reddy, P. Sabita Indra Reddy, Galla Aruna Kumari, Konda Surekha, V. Sunitha Lakshma Reddy and D. K. Aruna — to be chosen for a ministry post.