Mrs. Panabaka Lakshmi today assumed charge as new Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas in New Delhi. Prior to her present assignment, she was Union Minister of State for Textiles. Mrs Lakshmi is a fourth term Member of Parliament from Lok Sabha from Andhra Pradesh. She was first elected to 11th Lok Sabha in 1996. Besides serving on various Parliamentary Committees, Mrs Lakshmi was also Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare earlier.