Nirmala

Event Description

Nirmala Sitharaman is an eminent Indian politician and economist served as India’s Minister of Finance and currently serving as Minister of Corporate Affairs under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Breaking barriers as India’s first full-time female Finance Minister since 2019, she previously made history as the nation's first full-time female Defence Minister from 2017 to 2019. An alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) with an M.Phil in Economics, she successfully steered India's economy through unprecedented global challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic, consistently driving reforms in Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), Goods and Services Tax (GST), and fiscal consolidation.

Summary

As a regular feature on Forbes' List of the World's 100 Most Powerful Women, Sitharaman continues to solidify India's position as the world's fastest-growing major economy, recently highlighting a 7.8% GDP growth rate for Q1 of FY 2026–27 [0.4]. Her contemporary leadership is defined by global economic diplomacy, including her active role in shaping international financial architecture at the G20 Finance Ministers' meetings and forging multi-billion dollar bilateral trade agreements

Award Details

Bharata Lakshmi Award (2025)