Sudha Murty, the engineer-turned-philanthropist, officially assumed her role as a member of the Rajya Sabha today, taking the oath in a ceremony attended by her husband NR Narayana Murthy.
The oath was administered by Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar in his chamber at the Parliament House. Leader of the House Piyush Goyal was also present during the occasion.
Sudha Murty Takes Oath As Rajya Sabha MP:
Murty, aged 73, who previously served as the chairperson of Infosys Foundation and is acclaimed for her literary works, particularly aimed at children, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on International Women's Day last Friday.
Her notable contributions to Kannada and English literature have earned her prestigious awards including the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar, Padma Shri (2006), and Padma Bhushan (2023).
Notably, Murty holds the distinction of being the first woman engineer to have worked with TELCO. She is famously known for providing an initial capital of ₹10,000 from her emergency funds to her husband, NR Narayana Murthy, to kick-start Infosys, a decision that played a pivotal role in the company's growth to its current market cap of over USD 80 billion.
Adding to her family's prominence, Murty's daughter, Akshata, is married to Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of Britain.
Akshata Murty has previously lauded her mother's achievements, referring to her as 'a role model for women' during an International Women’s Day celebration event at Downing Street, PTI had said in a report earlier this week.
Akshata spoke about the value of mentorship for women in business, using her mother's journey to break barriers in fields such as science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Murty's dedication to these domains, both academically and professionally, highlights her status as a technological trailblazer.