Nirmala Sitharaman Biography, Age, Husband, Daughter, Salary

Nirmala Sitharaman: The Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India, Nirmala Sitaraman is one of the leading women in the cabinet and female politicians in the nation. She keeps adding her name to the news sections due to one or the other political reasons. However, recently she gained substantial media attention due to her health conditions. She was admitted to the AIIMS, New Delhi on Monday. She was reported to have felt dehydrated and dealing with chest congestion. There were very strong reports of her to be potentially dealing with viral fever.

However, she has been recovering very well and is expected to be discharged very soon. Here in the following article, you shall find all information pertaining to her health, biography, salary, personal life, husband, daughter, age, career, political achievements, and much more.

Nirmala Sitharaman Biography

One of the prominent and strong politicians in the camp of the Bhartiya Janta Party is Nirmala Sitharaman. Hailing from an educational background in Economics, she holds the fort of Finance for the Modi Government in India. She is designated to the office of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of India. The 63-year-old politician hails from a Tamil family and has been an integral part of the BJP since 2006. She was assigned the office of the Ministry of Defence in 2017 and was the second woman after Indira Gandhi to do so, and the first woman to handle the office as a full-time job.

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Post that, in 2019, she was declared the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India and became the first woman to hold the position full-time. She has been prominently vocal against the opposition parties and receives mixed responses pertaining to her handling of the Ministry.

Nirmala Sitharaman: Quick Facts

Early Life and Education of Sitharaman

Sitharaman was born on 18 August 1959 in Madurai of Tamil Nadu to Tamil Iyenger parents, Savitri and Narayanan Sitharaman. She pursued her schooling in the city of Madras and Thiruchirapalli. While she lived in the respective cities and was born into a Tamilian family, she knows Tamil. Further, catering to her acute interest in the subject of Economics, she joined the Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College, Tiruchirapalli, to graduate with the Bachelor of Arts from the same.

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Additionally, she obtained an MPhil and a Masters’s degree further majoring in economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University in 1984. To concentrate more on the niche of the Indo-Europe trade, she enrolled on a PhD program. However, she had to give up her educational endeavour since she got married and her husband secured a scholarship at the London School of Economics.

Her educational journey taught her well in English. Moreover, living in New Delhi and particularly later joining the Jawaharlal Nehru University educated her on Hindi and its proficiency. She can speak the language well with a Tamil accent.

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Non-Political Career of Nirmala Sitharaman

While Sitharaman was in London, she worked as a salesman in a store dealing with home decor products, situated in the Regent Street London. She later joined the Agricultural Engineers Association in Lodon to get employed as an assistant under an Economist in the organisation. Further, she joined Pricewaterhouse Coopers PwC in the United Kindom to work as the Senior Manager. Subsequently, she joined the BBC World Service to simply work as the Manager at a higher position in the enterprise.

Upon her return to India, she joined the National Commission for Women which happens to be a statutory body under the Government of India to serve as a crucial member. She actively participated to suggest welfare schemes and judging the policies of the Government in their purpose pertaining to women. Additionally, in 2017, she was one of those who laid down the foundation of Pranava located in the city of Hyderabad.

Political Career of the Finance Minister of India

Sitharaman joined the Bhartiya Janta Party in the year 2006 post her return from London. She was later promoted to be the spokesperson of the party in the year 2010. She was picked by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi while forming his cabinet. She was appointed to the position of Junior Minister. She contested for the elections of Rajya Sabha representing a seat from Andhra Pradesh. She won the elections in 2014, while in 2016, she contested a seat in Karnataka. She was able to win the seat as well. On 26 May 2014, she assumed the Ministry of Commerce and Industry till 3 September 2017, in Narendra Modi cabinet.

Further on 3 September 2017, she succeeded Arun Jaitley in the office of the Ministry of Defence. As the Minister of Defence of India, she led the Indian Air Force to carry out the Balakot Air Strike on 26 February 2019, which the Indian Armed forces conducted in order to retaliate to the Pulwama Attack on the Indian Soldiers which the Islamist Terrorist Group Jaish-e-Mohammad executed on 14 February 2019. Post this, on 30 May 2019, she was preceded by Rajnath Singh as the Defence Minister of India.

In the 2019 reshuffling of Cabinet, Sitharaman was assigned the Office of Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs of India. She became the first female to hold the Ministry in a full-time mode. She paved way for her maiden budget in the Indian Parliament on 5 July 2019. Till now, she has presented four budgets including the Union Budget of 2020-2021. To mend the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Indian Economy, the Indian Government brought in the COVID-19 Economic Resources Task Force.

Nirmala was declared as the in charge of the respective task force. The prime aim of the initiative, announced by the Prime Minister of India, was to be in contact with the stakeholders and ensure the implementation of various measures amidst the global pandemic to smoothly sail India out of the tough situations. Sitharaman sits incumbent as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India in the Union Government of India.

Sitharaman Achievements

As a political leader, she is known for her prominence in society. She is one of the leading female politicians in India and her achievements and contributions to the community of women in India stand unmatched. She has been recognised in the world as one of the strongest women in politics. The Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2019 rewarded her with the Distinguished Alumni award realising her exceptional growth and success in the world of Economics and Indian Politics. Furthermore, in the same year, Forbes acknowledged her to be 34th on the list of 100 most powerful women in the world. She continued to be on this list in the 37th position in 2021 and the 36th position in the year 2022.

Salary of Finance Minister, Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman works as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs in the Modi Government of India. As per various reports, she holds personal lands and properties worth Rs. 1.5 crores, approximately. Her personal assets do not include a vehicle in her name or any other such privately owned luxuries. Like any other Minister, she is paid under Article 106 of the Indian Consitution, as per which, she receives a basic salary along with constituency allowance and secretarial allowance. It is believed that she could be earning more than Rs. 1.5 Lakhs on a monthly along with additional perks and allowances as applicable to her position.

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Personal Life, Husband, and Daughter of Nirmala

Nirmala Sitharaman met her husband, Parakala Prabhakar while studying at the Jawaharlal Nehru University. He was enrolled in the same post graduation course as her. Post that, in 1986, they got married. Prabhakar works as a Political Commentator and Political Economist. He was initially very strong bent towards the Congress party while Sitharaman seemed to gain an unmatchable attraction towards the Bhartiya Janta Party. Eventually, he became associated with the BJP too. He has also served as the Communications Advisor to the Andhra Pradesh Government between the year 2014 and 2018.

The couple has a daughter named Parakala Vangamayi. She is 31 years old and remains off media most time. She lived in Hyderabad, initially with her father. As of now, she too resides in the capital of India along with her parents. She was a student at Delhi University. At one point, some pictures of Sitharaman with a woman in the uniform armed forces started doing rounds on the internet. This made everyone believe that she happens to be the Minister’s daughter. However, the news was rubbished off since Sitharaman only has one daughter who, at present is not serving the Indian Armed Forces.

Health Condition of Nirmala Sitharaman

On 26 November 2022, Nirmala Sitharaman was admitted to the AIIMS Hospital, New Delhi. She was reportedly dealing with dehydration and congestion problems. There were multiple speculations leading to Covid since she allegedly developed fever. However, those reports were never confirmed from any source pertaining to Sitharaman. Her health condition showed substantial recovery at the hospital. She has been discharged by the doctors as of Thursday.

Social Media Profiles of the Finance Minister of India