Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
Smt Nirmala Sitharaman was born on 18th August, 1959 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu to Smt K. Savitri and Shri K. Sitharaman.
She completed her bachelor’s degree at Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College, Tiruchirappalli, before moving to the prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University. There, Sitharaman earned her Master’s degree from the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning (CESP) and later pursued an MPhil in Economics through the International Trade Department of the School of International Studies (SIS). During this period, she was an active member of the Free Thinkers’ Society.
After submitting her doctoral thesis on Indo-European textile trade, she moved to London, where she worked as Senior Manager (Research & Analysis) at Pricewaterhouse, London. During this period, she also worked briefly with BBC World Service. Upon returning to India, driven by a strong commitment to strengthening evidence-based policymaking, she established the Centre for Public Policy Studies in Hyderabad in 1992, with the aim of institutionalising policy analysis in India.
In 1997, she founded Pranava, a school in Hyderabad, which received the British Council’s International School Award (2007–2010) for its unconventional and child-centric approach to education. The institution emphasised nurturing students’ inherent talents over rote learning. A strong advocate of experiential learning, she led extensive educational travel across India to provide students with a more holistic learning experience.
During the Gujarat Assembly Elections in 2012, Smt. Sitharaman worked directly under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi wherein she was given the responsibility of organizing BJP’s Media Campaign for the elections. After the historic victory of BJP in 2014 General Elections, she was inducted into the Council of Ministers and assumed charge as Minister of State (Independent charge), Commerce & Industry on 27 May 2014. She also concurrently served as Minister of State Finance & Corporate Affairs in 2014.
In May 2016, she was one of the 12 candidates nominated by the BJP to contest the Rajya Sabha elections on 11 June 2016. On 3 September 2017, she became the Defence Minister of India. In 2019, she was given the responsibility of the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister of India.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was made in-charge of the COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force and it was also during her tenure as Finance Minister that India became the fifth largest economy in the world.
In 2022, she was re-elected as Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha from Karnataka
Smt Sitharaman again became the Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister after the formation of the NDA government under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi following victory in the 2024 General Assembly Elections. In February last year, Smt Sitharaman presented the record 8th Union Budget and is set to present her 9th Union Budget this year.
Milestones
Member of the National Commission for Women
Smt. Sitharaman held the position as a member of the National Commission for Women from 2003 to 2005 – among NCW’s youngest members, she was instrumental in voicing various issues of women's empowerment.