Modi Cabinet 3.0: Nirmala Sitharaman to continue as India's finance minister

Nirmala Sitharaman, who served as the union finance minister in Narendra Modi's second term, will continue as India's finance minister in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's third term as well.

Yesterday, while Modi took his oath of office for his historic third term as the prime minister of India, Sitharaman was inducted as a cabinet minister.

Nirmala Sitharaman has solidified her place in history alongside distinguished figures like Arun Jaitley and Manmohan Singh by completing a full term as India's Finance Minister. A prominent two-term Union Minister, Sitharaman is lauded for her role in advancing second-generation economic reforms. Her induction into the Prime Minister’s cabinet in 2014 marked the beginning of her impactful political journey at the national level.

Born on August 18, 1959, in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Nirmala Sitharaman was raised in a family where her father, Narayan Sitharaman, worked for the Indian Railways and her mother, Savitri, managed the household. She pursued her undergraduate studies in economics at Seethalakshmi Ramaswami College in Tiruchirapalli. Demonstrating academic excellence, she moved to New Delhi to further her education, earning both a Master’s and a Master of Philosophy degree in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Before her foray into Indian politics, Sitharaman had an accomplished career in the corporate sector in the United Kingdom. This international experience provided her with a unique perspective and a robust foundation for her subsequent roles in public service. At 64, Nirmala Sitharaman's journey from an academic scholar and corporate professional to a key political figure underscores her versatility and dedication to India's economic development.