Palaniappan Chidambaram was on Tuesday named India's new finance minister and is tasked with steering Asia's third-largest economy, dpa reported. Chidambaram, until now the home minister, has held the finance portfolio twice and was praised for his handling of the economy. Among the challenges he faces are high inflation, the widening fiscal deficit and the slowing economy, with growth plunging to a nine-year-low of 5.3 per cent in the quarter ending in March. Sushil Kumar Shinde, the power minister, will take charge of the Home Ministry, the president's office said. M Veerappa Moily, corporate affairs minister, will take additional charge of the power portfolio, the statement said. Pranab Mukherjee stepped down as finance minister in June and went on to win the presidential election. The ministry has since been in the charge of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
