Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday etched her name into the history books as she became the first Union Finance Minister to present seven consecutive budgets, breaking the record of Morarji Desai's six budget presentations. While Nirmala Sitharaman often comes under the scanner of the opposition who often point out loopholes in her Budget every year, it is a well-known fact that India's economy has become stronger in the past few years. When the BJP faltered during the Lok Sabha Polls 2024, multiple reports suggested that Nirmala Sitharaman may not be back as Finance Minister. However, PM Modi expressed his faith in Sitharaman's capability when it comes to the Indian economy and hence, after 2019, she was again chosen as the Finance Minister of India. Now, the question arises who is Nirmala Sitharaman, what is her educational qualification, and who are her family members? Below is everything you need to know about Nirmala Sitharaman-
Nirmala Sitharaman's early life & educational qualification
Born in Madurai to Savitri & Narayan Sitharaman, Nirmala Sitharaman had her schooling from Sacred Heart Convent Anglo Indian Higher Secondary School Villupuram till primary level and also from Madras and Tiruchirappalli.
Nirmala Sitharaman earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics at the Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli in 1980, Master of Arts degree in economics and M.Phil. from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi in 1984. She then enrolled for a Ph.D. program in Economics with a focus on Indo-Europe trade, but later left this program and moved to London (when her husband secured a scholarship at the London School of Economics.
Nirmala Sitharaman's political achievements
Sitharaman joined BJP in 2008. She was a national spokesperson of the party till 2014. In 2014 when Narendra Modi came to power, she was inducted into Modi's cabinet as a junior minister and was elected in June of that year as a Rajya Sabha Member from Andhra Pradesh.
What came as a historic moment for Indian politics, on 3 September 2017, Nirmala Sitharaman was appointed as Minister of Defence. She became only the second woman after Indira Gandhi to hold the post, but the first full-time female defence minister.
Nirmala Sitharaman's net worth
Nirmala Sitharaman was included among the most powerful women in the world by Forbes. According to 'Myneta.info', Nirmala Sitharaman has assets worth Rs 2,50,99,396, which includes both movable and immovable assets. She has 315 grams of gold and 2 kg of silver. She does not have a car and she has land worth about 16 lakhs in Hyderabad. She also has shares and other investments. She has invested in various companies and has also taken a loan of Rs 33,94,838 from some people for some personal reasons, while she has cash of Rs 17,200 and a bank balance of Rs 45,04,479.
Nirmala Sitharaman's family
Nirmala Sitharaman is married to economist Parakala Prabhakar. Parakala Prabhakar hails from Narsapuram, Andhra Pradesh. Sitharaman met Parakala Prabhakar while studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. While Nirmala leaned towards the BJP, her husband is from a Congress family. They married in 1986, and have a daughter who previously worked for Indian media organizations. Prabhakar served as the communications advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh from 2014 to 2018. Notably, Parakala Prabhakar is also a staunch critic of the BJP, especially PM Modi. During the Lok Sabha campaign, Parakala Prabhakar also stated that if PM Modi is re-elected then no election will take place in the future.