Sudha Murthy, author and philanthropist, has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by President Droupadi Murmu. 73 year old Sudha Murthy is the chairperson of Infosys foundation. The announcement of her nomination has come on the day when the world is celebrating International Women's Day. Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself announced the news of her nomination of the upper house of Indian Parliament. Congratulating Sudha Murthy, PM Modi said her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to the country's ‘Nari Shakti‘.
Modi wrote a post on his X handle. “Sudha Ji's contributions to diverse fields including social work, philanthropy and education have been immense and inspiring. Her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to our ‘Nari Shakti', exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation's destiny,” PM Modi posted.
The President of India nominates 12 members to the Upper House of the Parliament for their contributions towards arts, literature, sciences, and social services.
Who is Sudha Murthy?
Renowned for her philanthropy and contributions to literature in both Kannada and English, Sudha Murty has left an indelible mark on society. Her novel, Dollar Bahu, originally penned in Kannada and later translated into English, gained widespread acclaim and was adapted into a televised series by Zee TV in 2001. Murthy's husband Narayana Murthy is the founder of IT giant Infosys. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is her son-in-law. Murthys daughter Akshita married to Rishi Sunak. She received the Padma Bhushan – the third-highest civilian award in India – for social work last year and Padma Shri in 2006.
Sudha Murthy was born in a Brahmin family in Shiggaon, North Karnataka. His father Dr. RH Kulkarni was a doctor. She was literary since childhood. She studied Electrical Engineering from BVB College of Engineering and got Master's degree in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in1974. Despite her staggering net worth of Rs 775 crore, she leads a life of simplicity. Known for her candidness, Murthy began her career as an engineer with TELCO (now Tata Motors). She was the first woman engineer in India who worked in automobile manufacturing industry on the shop floor of TELCO.
She is currently the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. She is a prolific writer in English and Kannada, and her books have been translated into all major Indian languages and have sold over 26 lakh copies so far around the country. Sudha Murty, with over 150 published books to her name, defies conventional gender norms and stereotypes. She has also received the RK Narayan Award for Literature, the Attimabbe Award from the government of Karnataka for excellence in Kannada literature in 2011, and more recently, the Lifetime Achievement by Crossword Book Awards in 2018.
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