Sudha Murty Renowned Philanthropist Sworn in as Rajya Sabha MP

Renowned for her philanthropic endeavours, Sudha Murty, a former engineer, took the oath as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. The ceremony, attended by her spouse N R Narayana Murthy, saw her pledge in Kannada. The oath-taking ceremony occurred within the chambers of Parliament House, where Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar officiated the proceedings. He extended his congratulations to Murty and her husband following the ceremony. Notably, Leader of the House Piyush Goyal graced the occasion with his presence.

Who is Sudha Murty?

Aged 73, Murty, the ex-chairperson of Infosys Foundation and an acclaimed author, particularly of children’s literature, was nominated to the Rajya Sabha on International Women’s Day last week. Her contributions to both Kannada and English literature have earned her prestigious accolades such as the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar, along with the Padma Shri (2006) and the Padma Bhushan (2023) awards. Murty’s legacy extends beyond literature and philanthropy. As the first female engineer to have collaborated with TELCO, she famously provided her husband with a seed capital of Rs 10,000 from her emergency funds to kickstart Infosys, now boasting a market capitalization exceeding USD 80 billion.

A Family of Achievers

Intriguingly, Murty’s daughter, Akshata, is married to Rishi Sunak, the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, further cementing the family’s prominent status on the global stage.