10 Intriguing Facts About Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman's Financial Journey: From Economist to India's First Full-Time Female Finance Minister

Nirmala Sitharaman was born on August 18, 1959, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, and comes from a Tamil Iyengar Brahmin family.

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She completed her Master's and M.Phil in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi.

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Before entering politics, Sitharaman worked in London, at PwC, and at the BBC World Service.

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She joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2006 and quickly rose to prominence within the party.

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Sitharaman was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Andhra Pradesh in June 2014 and later from Karnataka.

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She served as the Minister of Defence from 2017 to 2019, becoming the second woman to hold this position in India.

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On May 31, 2019, Sitharaman became India's first full-time female Finance Minister.

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She has presented consecutive budgets since 2019, with the 2024-25 budget marking her seventh, surpassing Morarji Desai's record.

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Sitharaman's net worth is reported at Rs. 2,63,77,861.00 with liabilities amounting to Rs 73,07,458.

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She received the Distinguished Alumni Award from JNU in 2019 and was listed by Forbes as the 34th most powerful woman in the world the same year.

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