Nirmala Sitharaman Biography: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an Indian economist, politician, and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She has been serving as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs in the Government of India since 2019. A member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, she has represented Karnataka since 2016, after previously representing Andhra Pradesh from 2014 to 2016.
Sitharaman held the position of India’s 28th Defence Minister from 2017 to 2019, making her the second woman to serve as Defence Minister and the second woman to serve as Finance Minister, following Indira Gandhi. Notably, she is the first woman to hold both roles as full-time appointments. Between 2014 and 2017, she served as a junior minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, holding key portfolios. Initially, she was appointed as the Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (May–November 2014). Subsequently, she served as the Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry from May 2014 to September 2017 before being elevated to senior cabinet roles.
Recognized globally for her influence, Sitharaman ranked 36th on Forbes 2022 list of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women and rose to 32nd in the 2023 list. Fortune also named her the most powerful woman in India.
Nirmala Sitharaman Biography
| Birth | 18 August 1959 |
| Age | 62 years |
| Family | Narayanan Sitaraman (Father) Savitri (Mother) |
| Education | Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli (B. A. Economics) Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) (M.A. and M.Phil. in Economics) |
| Profession | Politician (Bharatiya Janata Party) |
| Husband | Parakala Prabhakar |
| Children | Parakala Vangmayi (daughter) |
| @nsitharaman |
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The current Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is an Indian politician who also serves as Minister of Corporate Affairs of India. Nirmala Sithraman is a Rajya Sabha MP since 2014. Previously, she has served as the Defence Minister of India, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs (Ministry of Finance), and Minister for Commerce and Industry.
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Nirmala Sitharaman: Personal life, Family and Education
Nirmala Sitharaman was born on August 18, 1959, to Savitri and Narayanan Sitharaman in Madurai. Sitharaman's father hailed from Musiri, Tiruchirappalli, and her mother's family had its roots in Thiruvenkadu, and in the Thanjavur and Salem districts of Tamil Nadu. Nirmala Sitharaman was born in a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family and her father was an Indian Railways employee.
Nirmala Sitharaman completed her schooling from Madras and Tiruchirappalli. She completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli. In 1984, she moved to Delhi to complete her Master of Arts and M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).
Nirmala Sitharaman met her husband Parakala Prabhakar while studying at JNU. Despite having different political ideologies, the couple married in the year 1986 and have a daughter named Parakala Vangmayi. Parakala Prabhakar was of Congress ideology while Sitharaman was leaned towards BJP. Her husband Parakala Prabhakar served as a communications advisor to the then Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu.
Nirmala Sitharaman: Political Career
Political Rise
In 2006, Nirmala Sitharaman joined Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and became the national spokesperson of BJP in 2010. In 2014, after BJP won the elections, Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as a Junior Minister in Narendra Modi's cabinet. In June 2014, Sitharaman was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh. In May 2016, she contested and won the Karnataka seat in the Rajya Sabha elections.
India's first full-time Minister of Defence
On September 3, 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as the Minister of Defence. She is the second female to hold this post after Indira Gandhi and the first one to hold it full-time.
India's first full-time Finance Minister
On May 31, 2019, Sitharaman joined the office as the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister and is India's first full-time female Finance Minister. On July 5, Sitharaman presented her maiden budget in the parliament. On February 1, 2020, she presented the Union Budget 2020-21.
She is the second female minister to present the budget, after former PM Indira Gandhi for the 1970–71 fiscal year. Breaking the records set by her predecessors, Yashwant Sinha, Arun Jaitley, Manmohan Singh, and P Chidambaram, who presented five budgets in a row, is Sitharaman, the first full-time female finance minister.
Relief packages amid the COVID-19 pandemic
After the COVID-19 crisis, Sitharaman became the in-charge of the COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force.
She unveiled 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' 20 lakh crore relief package via a press conference at the National Media Centre. The Rs 20 lakh crore relief package includes the previous packages announced by the GOI and the central bank i.e. RBI to deal with the coronavirus distress.
On Tuesday, PM Modi in his fifth address to the nation, since the countrywide lockdown, announced this package to make India self-reliant and urged the people to become vocal for local products, i.e., the use of swadeshi. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted, "This shall not be just a financial package, but a reform stimulus, a mindset overhaul, and a thrust in governance."
Both the Prime Minister and Finance Minister indicated that this huge package will revive the Indian economy and will support people from all walks of life amidst the pandemic.
Nirmala Sitharaman: Career before entering Politics
Nirmala Sitharaman worked as a salesperson at Habitat (A home decor store in London). She also served as an assistant to an Economist of the Agricultural Engineers Association (UK). She has also worked as a Senior Manager (Research and Development department) for PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and at the BBC World Service. She was also a member of the National Commission for Women.
Nirmala Sitharaman: Recognitions
1- Nirmala Sitharaman was conferred with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019 by JNU.
2- She was also ranked as the 34th most powerful woman in the world in 2019 by Forbes Magazine.
Nirmala Sitharaman is one of the most powerful women that India has witnessed. From the first full-time female Finance Minister to holding several positions in the Union Cabinet, Sitharaman is an inspiration to all the females of the country.
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