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Who was finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's role model? She answers
Sitharaman further said that it is destiny that took her to the post of the Union finance minister of India.
In a candid conversation on Sunday, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that she did not have any role model or dream while growing up. "When you were young, what was your dream, who was your role-model to get you to this position", Sitharaman was asked during the interactive session hosted by the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) in Bengaluru. "Absolutely sweet question," she said as she responded to the question. "But I am not even sure I had a dream. I just kept doing what was before me and went along the flow," she said.
Sitharaman further said that it is destiny that took her to the post of the Union finance minister of India. "I don't think I chart any course in my life. I walked along the path which was before me and that destiny has taken me wherever I am", Sitharaman said. She also said that she only focuses on better performance so that she does not disappoint people who have given her the responsibility; "and I don't want to disappoint the people of India," Sitharaman added.
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Many industry leaders and business tycoons including Wipro founder Azim Premji, former director of Infosys TV Mohandas Pai and president and chairman of Volvo Group India Kamal Bali Premji were part of the event.
Sitharaman took over the finance portfolio in May 2019. Before this, she served as the defence minister of India. An alumna of the Jawaharlal Nehru University, the 61-year-old BJP leader was the second woman to hold that position after Indira Gandhi.
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She has also served as the commerce minister before being promoted to the cabinet rank. As per experts, she was a tough negotiator and successfully put across India’s point of view at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), impressing the Prime Minister.
Sitharaman has also served as a member of the National Commission for Women between 2003 and 2005. Known for being articulate and aggressive in her speeches, Sitharaman has also worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers research unit in London.
