Nirmala Sitharaman: The First Female Finance Minister of India

India has its iron lady in Nirmala Sitharaman, who has made history by holding portfolios that have been, till now, considered a man’s job. She became India’s first defence minister in 2017 and its finance minister in 2019 after the BJP-led government was elected for the second time. She also serves as Minister of Corporate Affairs of India.

Early Life & Education

Nirmala Sitharaman was born into a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family, and her father was an Indian Railways employee. 

She completed her schooling in Madras and Tiruchirappalli. 

After completing a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli, she moved to Delhi for further studies and completed her M.A. and M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Personal Information

Full Name         : Nirmala Sitharaman

Date of Birth     : 18 August 1959

Father’s Name  : Shri Narayanan Sitharaman

Mother’s Name : Shrimati Savitri

Place of Birth    : Madurai (Tamil Nadu)

Marital Status   : Married on 12 September 1986

Spouse Name  : Dr. Parakala Prabhakar

Career

• Salesperson at Habitat (A home decor store in London). 
• Assistant Economist of the Agricultural Engineers Association (U.K.) 
•  Senior Manager in the Research and Development department at PWC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) 
• Senior Manager at the BBC World Service. 
• Member of the National Commission for Women(NCW) 

Political Career

• Joined the Bhartiya Janata Party-BJP (2006) 
• BJP National Spokesperson (2010)
• Junior Minister in Narendra Modi’s Cabinet (2014)
• Elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh (2014) 
• Elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka (May 2016)
• Elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka (May 2022)

• India’s First Full-Time Female Minister of Defence

Nirmala Sitharaman was designated as the Minister of Defence on September 3, 2017. After Indira Gandhi, she is the second woman to have held this position and the first one to hold it on a full-time basis. 

• India’s First Full-Time Female Finance Minister

Sitharaman is India’s first full-time female Finance Minister. She presented her maiden and the Union Budget 2020-21 on July 5 and February 1, respectively.

Awards & Honors

• Distinguished Alumni Award in 2019 by JNU
• 34th most powerful woman in the world in 2019 by Forbes Magazine

We always hear this phrase that age is just a number, which is somewhere true. Mrs. Sitharaman is 64 years old with an active mind and open heart. Her dedication has led her to success, and now we all know where she stands. It is an honour for us to witness a new India where equality of opportunity exists and women are coming forward in all areas, from farming to defence to leading the nation.

All her life, Nirmala Sitharaman was learning some or the other things, making herself the best version of herself. Not only the women of India but every Indian is delighted with her gesture and the work she has done for the country.

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