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{{short description| | {{short description|Indian economist and politician (born 1959)}} | ||
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{{Use dmy dates|date= | {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}} | ||
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2025}} | |||
{{Infobox officeholder | {{Infobox officeholder | ||
| name | | name = Nirmala Sitharaman | ||
| image | | image = Am 11. April 2025 empfing Außenministerin Beate Meinl-Reisinger die indische Finanzministerin Nirmala Sitharaman in Wien (54445397025) (cropped).jpg | ||
| | | image_size = 220px | ||
| caption | | caption = Sitharaman in April 2025 | ||
| office | | office = 30th [[Minister of Finance (India)|Minister of Finance]]<br>32nd [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|Minister of Corporate Affairs]] | ||
| | | president = {{ubl|[[Ramnath Kovind]]|[[Droupadi Murmu]]}} | ||
| | |||
| primeminister = [[Narendra Modi]] | | primeminister = [[Narendra Modi]] | ||
| term_start = 30 May 2019 | |||
| term_end = | |||
| predecessor = [[Arun Jaitley]] | | predecessor = [[Arun Jaitley]] | ||
| successor | | successor = | ||
| office2 = 28th [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | |||
| president2 = Ramnath Kovind | |||
| primeminister2 = Narendra Modi | |||
| term_start2 = 3 September 2017 | |||
| term_end2 = 30 May 2019 | |||
| predecessor2 = Arun Jaitley | |||
| office2 = [[Minister of Defence (India)|Minister of Defence]] | |||
| primeminister2 = | |||
| predecessor2 = | |||
| successor2 = [[Rajnath Singh]] | | successor2 = [[Rajnath Singh]] | ||
{{Collapsed infobox section begin | |||
| last = yes | |||
| Other ministerial positions | |||
| titlestyle = border:1px dashed lightgrey; | |||
| | |||
| | |||
| | |||
}} | }} | ||
{{Infobox officeholder | |||
| embed = yes | |||
| office3 = [[Minister of State]] (''Independent Charge'') for [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Commerce and Industry]] | |||
| primeminister3 = [[Narendra Modi]] | |||
| term_start3 = 26 May 2014 | |||
| term_end3 = 3 September 2017 | |||
| predecessor3 = [[Anand Sharma]] | |||
| successor3 = [[Suresh Prabhu]] | |||
= | | office4 = [[Minister of State]] for [[Ministry of Finance (India)|Finance]] | ||
| primeminister4 = [[Narendra Modi]] | |||
| minister4 = [[Arun Jaitley]] | |||
| term_start4 = 26 May 2014 | |||
| term_end4 = 9 November 2014 | |||
| predecessor4 = [[Shripad Naik]] | |||
| successor4 = [[Jayant Sinha]] | |||
== | | office5 = [[Minister of State]] for [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|Corporate Affairs]] | ||
Sitharaman | | primeminister5 = [[Narendra Modi]] | ||
| minister5 = [[Arun Jaitley]] | |||
| term_start5 = 26 May 2014 | |||
| term_end5 = 9 November 2014 | |||
| predecessor5 = ''Office established'' | |||
| successor5 = [[Arjun Ram Meghwal]] | |||
}} | |||
{{Collapsed infobox section end}} | |||
| office6 = [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha|Member of Parliament]], [[Rajya Sabha]] | |||
| term_start6 = 1 July 2016 | |||
| term_end6 = | |||
| predecessor6 = [[M. Venkaiah Naidu]] | |||
| successor6 = | |||
| constituency6 = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka|Karnataka]] | |||
| term_start7 = 26 June 2014 | |||
| term_end7 = 21 June 2016 | |||
| predecessor7 = [[N. Janardhana Reddy]] | |||
| successor7 = Suresh Prabhu | |||
| constituency7 = [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]] | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1959|08|18|df=y}} | |||
| birth_place = [[Madurai]], [[Madras State]], India<br> {{small|(present-day [[Tamil Nadu]])}} | |||
| party = [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|[[Parakala Prabhakar]]|12 September 1986}} | |||
| children = 1 | |||
| alma_mater = [[Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br/>[[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]], [[Master of Philosophy|MPhil]]) | |||
| residence = {{ubl|15, [[Safdarjung Road]], [[New Delhi]]}} | |||
| occupation = Politician | |||
| profession = | |||
| website = {{URL|https://nirmalasitharaman.in/}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Nirmala Sitharaman''' (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian [[economist]] and [[politician]] who is serving as the [[Minister of Finance (India)|minister of finance]] and [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|corporate affairs]] since 2019. Prior to that, she served as the [[Minister of Defence (India)|defence minister]]. A member of the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), she was elected as a [[Member of Parliament (India)|member]] of the [[Rajya Sabha]], the upper house of the [[Parliament of India|Indian Parliament]], from [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka|Karnataka]] in July 2016. | |||
Born in a [[Tamils|Tamil]] family in 1959 at [[Madurai]], Sitharaman obtained her [[Bachelor of Arts]] in Economics from [[Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College]] in 1980, and a [[Master of Arts]] in Economics and [[Master of Philosophy]] from the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] in 1984. She briefly worked in various roles in the United Kingdom, before returning to India. In 2003, she was appointed as a member of the [[National Commission for Women]] from 2003, and served till 2005. | |||
Sitharaman joined the BJP in 2008 and served as a national spokesperson for the party from 2010 to 2014. In May 2014, she was appointed as the [[minister of state]] with an independent charge of the [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|ministry of commerce and industry]] in the [[First Modi ministry]], and held the position till September 2017. She also held the role of minister of state in the [[Ministry of Finance (India)|finance]] and [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|corporate affairs]] ministries briefly from May to November 2014. After assuming office, she got elected to the Rajya Sabha from [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]] in June 2014. On 3 September 2017, she was appointed as the 28th defence minister. | |||
On 30 May 2019, Seetharaman was appointed as the minister of finance and corporate affairs in the [[Second Modi ministry]]. After serving for five years, she was reappointed to the position in the [[Third Modi ministry]] in June 2024, after the [[National Democratic Alliance]] won the [[2024 Indian general election]]. She is the first woman to hold the positions of minister of defence and minister of finance full-time.{{efn|name=Indira|[[Indira Gandhi]], who was the [[Prime Minister of India|Indian prime minister]], held additional responsibilities as the minister of finance in 1970, and the minister of defence from 1980 to 1982.}} In July 2025, she became the longest continuous serving Indian finance minister surpassing [[C. D. Deshmukh]]. In February 2026, she became the first Indian finance minister to present the [[Budget of India|union budget]] for nine consecutive times. | |||
==Early life and education== | |||
Sitharaman was born into a [[Tamils|Tamil]] [[Iyengar]] family in [[Madurai]], [[Tamil Nadu]], to Savitri and Narayanan Sitharaman.<ref name="Brit">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Chaudhuri |first=Shatarupa |date=24 September 2025|title=Nirmala Sitharaman |url=https://www.britannica.com/money/Nirmala-Sitharaman |access-date=24 September 2025 |encyclopedia=[[Britannica]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nirmala Sitharaman Biography: Age, Family, Education, Political Career, Recognitions |url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/nirmala-sitharaman-1587988863-1 |work=[[Jagranjosh]] |date=1 February 2026 |access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Nirmala Sitharaman |work=[[Ministry of Finance (India)|Ministry of Finance]], [[Government of India]] |url=https://financialservices.gov.in/beta/en/minister/smt-nirmala-sitharaman |access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref> Her father worked with the [[Indian Railways]].<ref name="HT">{{cite web |date=5 July 2019 |title=Nirmala Sitharaman’s parents watch her first budget speech in Parliament |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/budget/budget-2019-nirmala-sitharaman-s-parents-watch-her-first-budget-speech-in-parliament/story-FSFYMAS6Q44ooWifF6gESL.html |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=[[ The Hindustan Times]]}}</ref><ref name="DH">{{cite web|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnatakas-representative-in-union-cabinet-nirmala-sitharaman-3059465|title=Karnataka's representative in Union Cabinet: Nirmala Sitharaman profile|work=[[Deccan Herald]]|date=10 June 2024|access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref> She studied at Sacred Heart Convent Anglo-Indian School in [[Viluppuram]] and then at the Vidyodaya School in [[Chennai]]. She passed her [[SSLC]] at St. Philomena’s School and the [[higher secondary]] at Holy Cross School in [[Tiruchirappalli]].<ref>{{cite web|date=20 February 2025|title=Budget 2025: FM Nirmala Sitharaman educational qualification - Impressive journey from academics to politics|url=https://www.etnownews.com/budget/budget-2025-fm-nirmala-sitharaman-educational-qualification-impressive-journey-from-academics-to-politics-article-117814179|access-date=1 June 2025|work=ET Now|last=Mitra|first=Arnab}}</ref><ref name="BS">{{cite web|last1=Phadnis|first1=Aditi|title=The rise and rise of Nirmala Sitharaman: From spokesperson to defence minister|url=http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/rise-of-nirmala-sitharaman-from-spokesperson-to-defence-minister-117090400030_1.html|work=[[Business Standard]]|date=4 September 2017|access-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906121736/http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/rise-of-nirmala-sitharaman-from-spokesperson-to-defence-minister-117090400030_1.html|archive-date=6 September 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
Sitharaman obtained a [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in economics from the [[Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College]], Tiruchirapalli, in 1980, and a [[Master of Arts]] degree in economics and a [[Master of Philosophy]] from the [[Jawaharlal Nehru University]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://docs.myneta.info/affidavits/rajsab09aff/631/Nirmala%20Sitharaman.pdf|title=Rajya Sabha Affidavits: Nirmala Sitharaman|date=30 May 2016|page=7|access-date=2 June 2019|archive-date=22 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220422141053/http://docs.myneta.info/affidavits/rajsab09aff/631/Nirmala%20Sitharaman.pdf|url-status=live|work=[[Parliament of India]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Nirmala Sitharaman appointed Finance Minister in Modi govt 2.0 as Arun Jaitley retreats |url=https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/nirmala-sitharaman-appointed-finance-minister-in-modi-govt-2-0-as-arun-jaitley-retreats/1594251/ |work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]] |date=31 May 2019 |access-date=1 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601011218/https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/nirmala-sitharaman-appointed-finance-minister-in-modi-govt-2-0-as-arun-jaitley-retreats/1594251/ |archive-date=1 June 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> She later enrolled in a [[Doctor of Philosophy|Ph.D.]] program in economics at the university but later left this program and then moved to [[London]], [[U.K.]], when her husband secured a scholarship at [[London School of Economics]].<ref name="BS"/><ref>{{cite news|date=26 May 2014|title=Nirmala has her roots in Tiruchi|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/tamil-nadu/nirmala-has-her-roots-in-tiruchi/article6051210.ece|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> | |||
== | ==Non-political career== | ||
[[ | After moving to London, Sitharaman initially worked as a salesperson at Habitat, a home decor store in [[Regent Street]]. She later served as an assistant to an economist at the [[Agricultural Engineers Association]]. She has also worked as a senior manager of [[Research and development|R&D]] at [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]] and at the [[BBC World Service]] briefly.<ref name="Brit"/><ref name="BS"/><ref name="HP">{{cite news |date=3 September 2017 |title=In Nirmala Sitharaman, India Gets Its Second Woman Defence Minister After Indira Gandhi |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/09/03/in-nirmala-sitharaman-india-gets-its-second-woman-defence-minis_a_23195198/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183454/http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2017/09/03/in-nirmala-sitharaman-india-gets-its-second-woman-defence-minis_a_23195198/ |archive-date=13 September 2017 |access-date=13 September 2017 |work=[[Huffington Post]]}}</ref> After returning to India in 1991, she served as the deputy director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies in [[Hyderabad]]. In 2004, she was one of the founding directors of Pranava, a private [[co-educational school]] in Hyderabad.<ref name="Brit"/><ref>{{cite web |last=Menon |first=Amarnath K. |date=5 September 2017 |title=Nirmala Sitharaman's rise from activist to Defence Minister |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/delhi/story/nirmala-sitharaman-defence-minister-cabinet-reshuffle-sushma-swaraj-1038180-2017-09-05 |access-date=24 September 2025 |work=[[India Today]] }}</ref> She was appointed as a member of the [[National Commission for Women]] in 2003, and served in the position till 2005.<ref>{{cite news |title=Nirmala Sitharaman and the Budget: A lady's day out |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/nirmala-sitharaman-and-the-budget-a-ladys-day-out/articleshow/73803594.cms |work=[[The Economic Times]] |date=1 February 2020 |access-date=10 June 2024 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610180917/https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/nirmala-sitharaman-and-the-budget-a-ladys-day-out/articleshow/73803594.cms |url-status=live }}</ref> | ||
== | ==Political career== | ||
[[ | Sitharaman joined the [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP) in 2006 and was appointed to its national executive committee in 2008.<ref name="Brit"/> She was appointed as a national spokesperson of the party in 2010, and served in the role till 2014.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mohua |last=Chatterjee |date=21 March 2010 |title=BJP gets a JNU product as its woman spokesperson |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/BJP-gets-a-JNU-product-as-its-woman-spokesparson/articleshow/5706871.cms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130921055312/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-03-21/india/28136255_1_nirmala-sitharaman-bjp-spokesperson-nitin-gadkari |archive-date=21 September 2013 |access-date=29 June 2013 |work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> | ||
[[ | |||
=== Minister of state === | |||
After the BJP won the [[2014 Indian general election]], [[Narendra Modi]] was sworn in as the [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Narendra Modi appointed PM, swearing-in on May 26|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/swearing-in-of-modi-govt-on-may-26/|access-date=20 May 2014|work=[[The Indian Express]]|date=20 May 2014|agency=[[Press Trust of India]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140520152512/http://indianexpress.com/article/india/politics/swearing-in-of-modi-govt-on-may-26/|archive-date=20 May 2014}}</ref> On 26 May 2014, Modi inducted Sitharaman in his [[First Modi ministry|first cabinet]] as the [[minister of state]] with an independent charge of the [[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|ministry of commerce and industry]].<ref name="DH"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elections.in/political-corner/women-cabinet-ministers-india/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140706231039/http://www.elections.in/political-corner/women-cabinet-ministers-india/|title=Women Cabinet Ministers in India|work=Elections.in|date=1 July 2014|access-date=1 July 2014|archive-date=6 July 2014}}</ref> She also held additional portfolios of minister of state in the [[Ministry of Finance (India)|finance]] and [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|corporate affairs]] ministries briefly from May to November 2014.<ref>{{cite news|first=Pheroze|last=L. Vincent|title=21 new Ministers inducted into Modi Cabinet|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-narendra-modis-union-cabinet-expansion/article6580375.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109134655/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/prime-minister-narendra-modis-union-cabinet-expansion/article6580375.ece|access-date=9 November 2014|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=9 November 2014|archive-date=9 November 2014}}</ref> As mandated by the [[Constitution of India]],{{efn|name=Constitution|As per the [[Constitution of India]], a union minister should be a member of the [[Parliament of India|Indian parliament]]. If they are not a member during their appointment, then they must get elected within a period of six months from the date of appointment.}} she was elected to the [[Rajya Sabha]], the upper house of the [[Parliament of India|Indian parliament]], from [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Andhra Pradesh|Andhra Pradesh]], in June 2014.<ref name="RS">{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nirmala-elected-to-rajya-sabha/article6152636.ece|title=Nirmala elected to Rajya Sabha|date=27 June 2014|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=7 January 2019|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812153452/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/nirmala-elected-to-rajya-sabha/article6152636.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> In May 2016, she was one of the 12 candidates nominated by the BJP to contest the Rajya Sabha elections on 11 June.<ref>{{cite news|title=Naidu, Naqvi, Goyal among 12 in BJP's RS list|url=http://www.abplive.in/india-news/naidu-naqvi-goyal-among-12-in-bjps-rs-list-352440|access-date=30 May 2016|work=ABP Live|date=29 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530152104/http://www.abplive.in/india-news/naidu-naqvi-goyal-among-12-in-bjps-rs-list-352440|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> She successfully contested her seat from [[List of Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka|Karnataka]] and re-elected to the parliament.<ref name="RS2">{{cite news |url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/congress-wins-3-rajya-sabha-seats-from-karnataka-bjp-gets-1-1418017 |title=Nirmala Sitharaman Wins Rajya Sabha Seat From Karnataka, Congress Gets 3 |accessdate=12 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611214036/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/congress-wins-3-rajya-sabha-seats-from-karnataka-bjp-gets-1-1418017 |archive-date=11 June 2016 |url-status=live |work=[[NDTV]]}}</ref> | |||
=== | ===Cabinet minister=== | ||
[[File:Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman taking charge as the Union Minister for | [[File:Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman taking charge as the Union Minister for Defence, in New Delhi on September 07, 2017.jpg|thumb|Sitharaman taking charge as defence minister on 7 September 2017]] | ||
On | On 3 September 2017, Sitharaman was appointed as the [[Ministry of Defence (India)|minister of defence]], being only the second woman after [[Indira Gandhi]] to hold the post, and the first full-time female defence minister.{{efn|name=Indira}}<ref>{{cite news |date=4 September 2017 |title=India new defence minister hails progress for women |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41144546 |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=en-GB}}</ref> During her tenure, the [[Indian Armed Forces]] conducted the [[2019 Balakot airstrike|Balakot airstrike]] inside Pakistan on 26 February 2019, in response to the earlier [[2019 Pulwama attack|attack]] on an [[Indian Army]] convoy on 14 February.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peri |first1=Dinakar |last2=Haidar |first2=Suhasini | date=26 February 2019 |title=India bombs Jaish camp in Pakistan’s Balakot |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/air-strikes-hit-balakot-in-pakistan-initial-assessment-100-hit-sources/article61538217.ece |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> Sitharaman later said that the attack targeted militant camps and no civilian was harmed, while not giving details on the damages and number of deaths caused by the strikes.<ref>{{cite news|last=Rohit|first=T. K.|date=5 March 2019|title=Govt stand on death toll in IAF Pak. strike same as one given by Foreign Secretary: Nirmala Sitharaman|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/balakot-air-strike-was-not-a-military-action-says-defence-minister-nirmala-sitharaman/article26437080.ece|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Hindu]] }}</ref> | ||
== | After BJP won a majority in the [[2019 Indian general election]], Seetharaman was appointed as the [[Minister of Finance (India)|minister of finance]] and [[Ministry of Corporate Affairs|corporate affairs]] in the [[Second Modi ministry]] on 30 May 2019.<ref>{{cite web|title=PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers|url=https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/pm-modi-allocates-portfolios-full-list-of-new-ministers-1559288502067.html|work=[[Live Mint]]|date=31 May 2019|access-date=2 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190602015648/https://www.livemint.com/politics/news/pm-modi-allocates-portfolios-full-list-of-new-ministers-1559288502067.html|archive-date=2 June 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> She is the second woman to hold the position after Indira Gandhi, and India's first full-time female finance minister.{{efn|name=Indira}}<ref>{{cite news|title=Narendra Modi Cabinet: Amit Shah gets Home and Nirmala Sitharaman is India's first full-time woman Finance Minister|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/narendra-modi-cabinet-ministers-and-portfolios/article27375561.ece|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=31 May 2019|access-date=31 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190531093401/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/narendra-modi-cabinet-ministers-and-portfolios/article27375561.ece|archive-date=31 May 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> She presented her [[2019 Union budget of India|maiden budget]] in the Indian parliament on 5 July 2019.<ref>{{cite news|title=Key Highlights of Union Budget 2019–20|url=http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1577423|access-date=5 July 2019|date=5 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190705133516/http://pib.nic.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx%3FPRID%3D1577423|archive-date=5 July 2019|url-status=live|work=[[Press Information Bureau]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=5 July 2019 |title=Nirmala’s maiden Budget is all about incremental measures |url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/nirmalas-maiden-budget-is-all-about-incremental-measures/article28299867.ece |access-date=1 June 2025 |work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref> During the [[COVID-19 pandemic in India|COVID-19 pandemic]], she was in-charge of the [[COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/coronavirus-impact-fm-led-economic-task-force-takes-stock-of-key-ministries/story/398804.html|title=Coronavirus in India: Economic task force yet to be formed; no decision on relief package|date=20 March 2020|work=[[Business Today (India)|Business Today]]|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=19 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200519200151/https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/coronavirus-impact-fm-led-economic-task-force-takes-stock-of-key-ministries/story/398804.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/government-forms-covid-19-economic-response-task-force-pm-modi/articleshow/74716284.cms|title=Covid 19 Economic Task Force: Government forms Covid-19 economic response task force, says PM Modi|date=19 March 2020|work=[[The Times of India]]|access-date=20 March 2020|archive-date=7 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507052311/https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/government-forms-covid-19-economic-response-task-force-pm-modi/articleshow/74716284.cms|url-status=live}}</ref> After the [[2024 Indian general election]], she was reappointed as the finance minister in the [[Third Modi ministry]] in June 2024.<ref>{{cite press release |date=10 June 2024 |title=Press Communique 18 |url=https://www.presidentofindia.gov.in/index.php/press_releases/press-communique-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610175433/https://www.presidentofindia.gov.in/index.php/press_releases/press-communique-18 |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=10 June 2024 |work=[[Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi|Rashtrapati Bhavan]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=9 June 2024 |title=Modi 3.0: Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar — 10 ministers retain Cabinet berths |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/modi-cabinet-amit-shah-rajnath-singh-home-defence-portfolio-allocation-9383703/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240610175650/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/modi-cabinet-amit-shah-rajnath-singh-home-defence-portfolio-allocation-9383703/ |archive-date=10 June 2024 |access-date=9 June 2024 |work=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref> In June 2025, a Delhi court issued a notice to her in connection with a criminal defamation plea filed by Lipika Mitra, the wife of former [[Aam Aadmi Party]] minister [[Somnath Bharti]].<ref>{{cite news|date=23 May 2023|title=Notice issued to Sitharaman over defamation plea by Bharti’s wife|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/notice-issued-to-sitharaman-over-defamation-plea-by-bhartis-wife/articleshow/121346123.cms|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Times of India]]}}</ref> | ||
[[ | |||
In July 2025, she became the longest continuous serving Indian finance minister surpassing [[C. D. Deshmukh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jagranjosh.com/general-knowledge/list-of-longest-serving-finance-minister-of-india-1737978429-1|title=List of longest serving finance minister of India|work=[[Jagran Josh]]|access-date=1 February 2026}}</ref> During her tenure as the finance minister, India became the [[List of countries by GDP (nominal)|fifth largest economy]] in the world in 2022,<ref>{{cite web|date=26 September 2022|title=India becomes fifth largest economy in the world|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/india-uk-fifth-largest-economy-world/|access-date=5 July 2023|work=[[World Economic Forum]]|archive-date=5 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705053223/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/india-uk-fifth-largest-economy-world/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=29 May 2023 |title=All promises made in 2014, 2019 enforced: Nirmala Sitharaman on nine years of NDA |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/tax-upliftment-poor-backward-nirmala-sitharaman-modi-govt-9th-anniversary-8634687/ |access-date=5 July 2023 |work=[[The Indian Express]] |archive-date=5 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705053224/https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/tax-upliftment-poor-backward-nirmala-sitharaman-modi-govt-9th-anniversary-8634687/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and the fourth largest in 2025.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/india-is-now-fourth-largest-economy-says-govt/article70454619.ece|title=India is now fourth largest economy, says govt.|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=31 December 2025|access-date=1 January 2026}}</ref> In February 2026, she presented the union budget for the ninth consecutive year, became the first Indian finance minister to do so.<ref>{{cite news|date=1 February 2025|title=Nirmala Sitharaman creates history with 8th consecutive Union Budget|url=https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/nirmala-sitharaman-creates-history-with-8th-consecutive-union-budget/article69167323.ece|access-date=1 February 2026|work=[[The Hindu]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Who has presented the most number of Budgets?|url=https://www.deccanherald.com/business/union-budget/union-budget-2025-who-has-presented-the-most-number-of-budgets-3374697|access-date=30 January 2025|work=[[Deccan Herald]]}}</ref> | |||
== Electoral history == | |||
{| class="wikitable" text-align: center;" | |||
! Position | |||
! colspan="2" |Party | |||
! State/UT | |||
! From | |||
! To | |||
! Tenure | |||
! {{Reference column heading}} | |||
|- | |||
| [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]<br><small>(1st Term)</small> | |||
| {{Party name with color|Bharatiya Janata Party|rowspan=3}} | |||
| [[Andhra Pradesh]] | |||
| 26 June 2014 | |||
| 17 June 2016 | |||
| {{ayd|2014|6|26|2016|6|17}} | |||
| <ref name="RS" /> | |||
|- | |||
| [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]<br><small>(2nd Term)</small> | |||
| rowspan="2"|[[Karnataka]] | |||
| 1 July 2016 | |||
| 30 June 2022 | |||
| rowspan="2"|{{ayd|2016|7|1}} | |||
| rowspan="2" |<ref name="RS2" /> | |||
|- | |||
| [[Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha]]<br><small>(3rd Term)</small> | |||
| 1 July 2022 | |||
| ''present'' | |||
|} | |||
== Awards and | == Awards and honours == | ||
The Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred her the | The Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred her the distinguished alumni award in 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sitharaman-and-jaishankar-to-get-jnus-distinguished-alumni-award/article27891307.ece|title=Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaishankar to get JNU's Distinguished Alumni Award|author=Staff Reporter|date=12 June 2019|work=[[The Hindu]]|access-date=13 December 2019|issn=0971-751X|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108002718/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/sitharaman-and-jaishankar-to-get-jnus-distinguished-alumni-award/article27891307.ece|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2025, ''[[Forbes]]'' ranked her 24th among the [[Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women|100 most powerful women in the world]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/profile/nirmala-sitharaman/|title=Nirmala Sitharaman|work=[[Forbes]]|access-date=11 December 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191213113350/https://www.forbes.com/profile/nirmala-sitharaman/|archive-date=13 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> This was her seventh consecutive time on the list, after being placed 34th in 2019, 41st in 2020, 37th on the list in 2021, 36th in 2022, 32nd in 2023 and 28th in 2024.<ref>{{cite news|date=7 December 2022|title=Nirmala Sitharaman, 5 other Indians among Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/finance-minister-sitharaman-5-other-indians-among-forbes-worlds-100-most-powerful-women/article66235006.ece|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Hindu]]|agency=Press Trust of India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=5 December 2023|title=The World's Most Powerful Women 2023|url=https://www.forbes.com/lists/power-women/|url-status=deviated|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231205122317/https://www.forbes.com/lists/power-women/|archive-date=5 December 2023 |access-date=5 December 2023|work=[[Forbes]]}}</ref> She was awarded the business reformer of the year at the [[Economic Times Awards]] in 2021.<ref>{{cite news|date=7 May 2022|title=ET Business Reformer of the Year 2021: Nirmala Sitharaman-Life support and recovery, forged in the crucible of a pandemic|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/et-business-reformer-of-the-year-2021-nirmala-sitharaman-life-support-and-recovery-forged-in-the-crucible-of-a-pandemic/articleshow/90481527.cms|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Economic Times]]}}</ref> | ||
==Personal life== | ==Personal life== | ||
Sitharaman met | Sitharaman met [[Parakala Prabhakar]], who hailed from [[Narsapuram]], [[Andhra Pradesh]], while studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.<ref name="BS"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://doe.gov.in/minister/meet-union-finance-minister|title=Meet the Union Finance Minister|work=[[Government of India]]|access-date=17 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190812120051/https://doe.gov.in/minister/meet-union-finance-minister|archive-date=12 August 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> They married in 1986 and have a daughter Vangmayi, a journalist.<ref>{{cite web|date=17 September 2013|title=Vangmayi Parakala|url=https://jlflitfest.org/colorado/speaker/vangmayi-parakala|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211208190118/https://jlflitfest.org/colorado/speaker/vangmayi-parakala|archive-date=8 December 2021|access-date=10 June 2024|work=[[Jaipur Literature Festival]], Colorado}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=6 June 2024|title=Meet Vangmayi Parakala, the daughter of Nirmala Sitharaman; Know about her education, career, and more|url=https://www.financialexpress.com/life/lifestyle-who-is-vangmayi-parakala-the-low-profile-daughter-of-nirmala-sitharaman-know-about-her-education-career-and-more-3511232/|access-date=1 June 2025|work=[[The Financial Express (India)|The Financial Express]]}}</ref> Prabhakar served as the communications advisor to the [[Government of Andhra Pradesh]] from 2014 to 2018.<ref>{{cite news|date=19 June 2018|title=AP govt advisor and Nirmala Sitharaman's husband Parakala Prabhakar quits, blames Jagan|url=https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ap-govt-advisor-and-nirmala-sitharaman-s-husband-parakala-prabhakar-quits-blames-jagan-83322|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120092942/https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/ap-govt-advisor-and-nirmala-sitharaman-s-husband-parakala-prabhakar-quits-blames-jagan-83322|archive-date=20 November 2018|access-date=22 June 2018|work=[[The News Minute]]}}</ref> | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*[[List of female defence ministers]] | *[[List of female defence ministers]] | ||
*[[List of female finance ministers]] | *[[List of female finance ministers]] | ||
==Notes== | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{reflist | {{reflist}} | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* [http://www.elections.in/political-leaders/nirmala-sitharaman.html | * [https://doe.gov.in/smt-nirmala-sitharaman Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India:] on Doe.gov.in | ||
* [http://www.elections.in/political-leaders/nirmala-sitharaman.html Nirmala Sitharaman – Biography] on Elections.in | |||
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister of Commerce and Industry]]|years=2014–2017 | {{s-ttl|title=[[Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India)|Minister of Commerce and Industry]]|years=2014–2017}} | ||
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[[Category:Women union ministers of state of India]] | [[Category:Women union ministers of state of India]] | ||
[[Category:Women scientists from Tamil Nadu]] | [[Category:Women scientists from Tamil Nadu]] | ||
[[Category:Women members of the Cabinet of India]] | [[Category:Women members of the Cabinet of India]] | ||
Latest revision as of 10:47, 27 March 2026
Nirmala Sitharaman | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Error creating thumbnail: File missing Sitharaman in April 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30th Minister of Finance 32nd Minister of Corporate Affairs | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 30 May 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Arun Jaitley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28th Minister of Defence | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 September 2017 – 30 May 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Ramnath Kovind | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Narendra Modi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Arun Jaitley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Rajnath Singh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 1 July 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | M. Venkaiah Naidu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Karnataka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 26 June 2014 – 21 June 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | N. Janardhana Reddy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Suresh Prabhu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Andhra Pradesh | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 August 1959 Madurai, Madras State, India (present-day Tamil Nadu) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College (BA) Jawaharlal Nehru University (MA, MPhil) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Politician | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | nirmalasitharaman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian economist and politician who is serving as the minister of finance and corporate affairs since 2019. Prior to that, she served as the defence minister. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), she was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, from Karnataka in July 2016.
Born in a Tamil family in 1959 at Madurai, Sitharaman obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College in 1980, and a Master of Arts in Economics and Master of Philosophy from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1984. She briefly worked in various roles in the United Kingdom, before returning to India. In 2003, she was appointed as a member of the National Commission for Women from 2003, and served till 2005.
Sitharaman joined the BJP in 2008 and served as a national spokesperson for the party from 2010 to 2014. In May 2014, she was appointed as the minister of state with an independent charge of the ministry of commerce and industry in the First Modi ministry, and held the position till September 2017. She also held the role of minister of state in the finance and corporate affairs ministries briefly from May to November 2014. After assuming office, she got elected to the Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh in June 2014. On 3 September 2017, she was appointed as the 28th defence minister.
On 30 May 2019, Seetharaman was appointed as the minister of finance and corporate affairs in the Second Modi ministry. After serving for five years, she was reappointed to the position in the Third Modi ministry in June 2024, after the National Democratic Alliance won the 2024 Indian general election. She is the first woman to hold the positions of minister of defence and minister of finance full-time.[lower-alpha 1] In July 2025, she became the longest continuous serving Indian finance minister surpassing C. D. Deshmukh. In February 2026, she became the first Indian finance minister to present the union budget for nine consecutive times.
Early life and education[edit | edit source]
Sitharaman was born into a Tamil Iyengar family in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, to Savitri and Narayanan Sitharaman.[1][2][3] Her father worked with the Indian Railways.[4][5] She studied at Sacred Heart Convent Anglo-Indian School in Viluppuram and then at the Vidyodaya School in Chennai. She passed her SSLC at St. Philomena’s School and the higher secondary at Holy Cross School in Tiruchirappalli.[6][7]
Sitharaman obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli, in 1980, and a Master of Arts degree in economics and a Master of Philosophy from the Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1984.[8][9] She later enrolled in a Ph.D. program in economics at the university but later left this program and then moved to London, U.K., when her husband secured a scholarship at London School of Economics.[7][10]
Non-political career[edit | edit source]
After moving to London, Sitharaman initially worked as a salesperson at Habitat, a home decor store in Regent Street. She later served as an assistant to an economist at the Agricultural Engineers Association. She has also worked as a senior manager of R&D at PricewaterhouseCoopers and at the BBC World Service briefly.[1][7][11] After returning to India in 1991, she served as the deputy director of the Centre for Public Policy Studies in Hyderabad. In 2004, she was one of the founding directors of Pranava, a private co-educational school in Hyderabad.[1][12] She was appointed as a member of the National Commission for Women in 2003, and served in the position till 2005.[13]
Political career[edit | edit source]
Sitharaman joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2006 and was appointed to its national executive committee in 2008.[1] She was appointed as a national spokesperson of the party in 2010, and served in the role till 2014.[14]
Minister of state[edit | edit source]
After the BJP won the 2014 Indian general election, Narendra Modi was sworn in as the prime minister.[15] On 26 May 2014, Modi inducted Sitharaman in his first cabinet as the minister of state with an independent charge of the ministry of commerce and industry.[5][16] She also held additional portfolios of minister of state in the finance and corporate affairs ministries briefly from May to November 2014.[17] As mandated by the Constitution of India,[lower-alpha 2] she was elected to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament, from Andhra Pradesh, in June 2014.[18] In May 2016, she was one of the 12 candidates nominated by the BJP to contest the Rajya Sabha elections on 11 June.[19] She successfully contested her seat from Karnataka and re-elected to the parliament.[20]
Cabinet minister[edit | edit source]
On 3 September 2017, Sitharaman was appointed as the minister of defence, being only the second woman after Indira Gandhi to hold the post, and the first full-time female defence minister.[lower-alpha 1][21] During her tenure, the Indian Armed Forces conducted the Balakot airstrike inside Pakistan on 26 February 2019, in response to the earlier attack on an Indian Army convoy on 14 February.[22] Sitharaman later said that the attack targeted militant camps and no civilian was harmed, while not giving details on the damages and number of deaths caused by the strikes.[23]
After BJP won a majority in the 2019 Indian general election, Seetharaman was appointed as the minister of finance and corporate affairs in the Second Modi ministry on 30 May 2019.[24] She is the second woman to hold the position after Indira Gandhi, and India's first full-time female finance minister.[lower-alpha 1][25] She presented her maiden budget in the Indian parliament on 5 July 2019.[26][27] During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was in-charge of the COVID-19 Economic Response Task Force.[28][29] After the 2024 Indian general election, she was reappointed as the finance minister in the Third Modi ministry in June 2024.[30][31] In June 2025, a Delhi court issued a notice to her in connection with a criminal defamation plea filed by Lipika Mitra, the wife of former Aam Aadmi Party minister Somnath Bharti.[32]
In July 2025, she became the longest continuous serving Indian finance minister surpassing C. D. Deshmukh.[33] During her tenure as the finance minister, India became the fifth largest economy in the world in 2022,[34][35] and the fourth largest in 2025.[36] In February 2026, she presented the union budget for the ninth consecutive year, became the first Indian finance minister to do so.[37][38]
Electoral history[edit | edit source]
| Position | Party | State/UT | From | To | Tenure | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (1st Term) |
BJP | Andhra Pradesh | 26 June 2014 | 17 June 2016 | 1 year, 357 days | [18] | |
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (2nd Term) |
Karnataka | 1 July 2016 | 30 June 2022 | 10 years, 49 days | [20] | ||
| Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha (3rd Term) |
1 July 2022 | present | |||||
Awards and honours[edit | edit source]
The Jawaharlal Nehru University conferred her the distinguished alumni award in 2019.[39] In 2025, Forbes ranked her 24th among the 100 most powerful women in the world.[40] This was her seventh consecutive time on the list, after being placed 34th in 2019, 41st in 2020, 37th on the list in 2021, 36th in 2022, 32nd in 2023 and 28th in 2024.[41][42] She was awarded the business reformer of the year at the Economic Times Awards in 2021.[43]
Personal life[edit | edit source]
Sitharaman met Parakala Prabhakar, who hailed from Narsapuram, Andhra Pradesh, while studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.[7][44] They married in 1986 and have a daughter Vangmayi, a journalist.[45][46] Prabhakar served as the communications advisor to the Government of Andhra Pradesh from 2014 to 2018.[47]
See also[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Indira Gandhi, who was the Indian prime minister, held additional responsibilities as the minister of finance in 1970, and the minister of defence from 1980 to 1982.
- ↑ As per the Constitution of India, a union minister should be a member of the Indian parliament. If they are not a member during their appointment, then they must get elected within a period of six months from the date of appointment.
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chaudhuri, Shatarupa (24 September 2025). "Nirmala Sitharaman". Britannica. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman Biography: Age, Family, Education, Political Career, Recognitions". Jagranjosh. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman". Ministry of Finance, Government of India. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman's parents watch her first budget speech in Parliament". The Hindustan Times. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Karnataka's representative in Union Cabinet: Nirmala Sitharaman profile". Deccan Herald. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ Mitra, Arnab (20 February 2025). "Budget 2025: FM Nirmala Sitharaman educational qualification - Impressive journey from academics to politics". ET Now. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Phadnis, Aditi (4 September 2017). "The rise and rise of Nirmala Sitharaman: From spokesperson to defence minister". Business Standard. Archived from the original on 6 September 2017. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
- ↑ "Rajya Sabha Affidavits: Nirmala Sitharaman" (PDF). Parliament of India. 30 May 2016. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman appointed Finance Minister in Modi govt 2.0 as Arun Jaitley retreats". The Financial Express. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ↑ "Nirmala has her roots in Tiruchi". The Hindu. 26 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "In Nirmala Sitharaman, India Gets Its Second Woman Defence Minister After Indira Gandhi". Huffington Post. 3 September 2017. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
- ↑ Menon, Amarnath K. (5 September 2017). "Nirmala Sitharaman's rise from activist to Defence Minister". India Today. Retrieved 24 September 2025.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman and the Budget: A lady's day out". The Economic Times. 1 February 2020. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ↑ Chatterjee, Mohua (21 March 2010). "BJP gets a JNU product as its woman spokesperson". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2013.
- ↑ "Narendra Modi appointed PM, swearing-in on May 26". The Indian Express. Press Trust of India. 20 May 2014. Archived from the original on 20 May 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
- ↑ "Women Cabinet Ministers in India". Elections.in. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
- ↑ L. Vincent, Pheroze (9 November 2014). "21 new Ministers inducted into Modi Cabinet". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Nirmala elected to Rajya Sabha". The Hindu. 27 June 2014. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 August 2020. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
- ↑ "Naidu, Naqvi, Goyal among 12 in BJP's RS list". ABP Live. 29 May 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Nirmala Sitharaman Wins Rajya Sabha Seat From Karnataka, Congress Gets 3". NDTV. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
- ↑ "India new defence minister hails progress for women". BBC News. 4 September 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ Peri, Dinakar; Haidar, Suhasini (26 February 2019). "India bombs Jaish camp in Pakistan's Balakot". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ Rohit, T. K. (5 March 2019). "Govt stand on death toll in IAF Pak. strike same as one given by Foreign Secretary: Nirmala Sitharaman". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "PM Modi allocates portfolios. Full list of new ministers". Live Mint. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- ↑ "Narendra Modi Cabinet: Amit Shah gets Home and Nirmala Sitharaman is India's first full-time woman Finance Minister". The Hindu. 31 May 2019. Archived from the original on 31 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
- ↑ "Key Highlights of Union Budget 2019–20". Press Information Bureau. 5 July 2019. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
- ↑ "Nirmala's maiden Budget is all about incremental measures". The Hindu. 5 July 2019. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "Coronavirus in India: Economic task force yet to be formed; no decision on relief package". Business Today. 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 May 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ↑ "Covid 19 Economic Task Force: Government forms Covid-19 economic response task force, says PM Modi". The Times of India. 19 March 2020. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
- ↑ "Press Communique 18". Rashtrapati Bhavan (Press release). 10 June 2024. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ↑ "Modi 3.0: Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar — 10 ministers retain Cabinet berths". The Indian Express. 9 June 2024. Archived from the original on 10 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
- ↑ "Notice issued to Sitharaman over defamation plea by Bharti's wife". The Times of India. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "List of longest serving finance minister of India". Jagran Josh. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ↑ "India becomes fifth largest economy in the world". World Economic Forum. 26 September 2022. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ↑ "All promises made in 2014, 2019 enforced: Nirmala Sitharaman on nine years of NDA". The Indian Express. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
- ↑ "India is now fourth largest economy, says govt". The Hindu. 31 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman creates history with 8th consecutive Union Budget". The Hindu. 1 February 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
- ↑ "Who has presented the most number of Budgets?". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 30 January 2025.
- ↑ Staff Reporter (12 June 2019). "Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaishankar to get JNU's Distinguished Alumni Award". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman". Forbes. Archived from the original on 13 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2025.
- ↑ "Nirmala Sitharaman, 5 other Indians among Forbes World's 100 Most Powerful Women". The Hindu. Press Trust of India. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "The World's Most Powerful Women 2023". Forbes. 5 December 2023. Archived from the original on 5 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
- ↑ "ET Business Reformer of the Year 2021: Nirmala Sitharaman-Life support and recovery, forged in the crucible of a pandemic". The Economic Times. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "Meet the Union Finance Minister". Government of India. Archived from the original on 12 August 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
- ↑ "Vangmayi Parakala". Jaipur Literature Festival, Colorado. 17 September 2013. Archived from the original on 8 December 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ↑ "Meet Vangmayi Parakala, the daughter of Nirmala Sitharaman; Know about her education, career, and more". The Financial Express. 6 June 2024. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
- ↑ "AP govt advisor and Nirmala Sitharaman's husband Parakala Prabhakar quits, blames Jagan". The News Minute. 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 20 November 2018. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
External links[edit | edit source]
- Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, Government of India: on Doe.gov.in
- Nirmala Sitharaman – Biography on Elections.in
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Anand Sharma |
Minister of Commerce and Industry 2014–2017 |
Succeeded by Suresh Prabhu |
| Preceded by Arun Jaitley |
Minister of Defence 2017–2019 |
Succeeded by Rajnath Singh |
| Minister of Finance 31 May 2019 – present |
Incumbent | |
| Minister of Corporate Affairs 31 May 2019 – present | ||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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