President Droupadi Murmu has nominated author and philanthropist Sudha Murty to the Rajya Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday.

The president nominates 12 members to the Upper House of the Parliament for their contributions to arts, literature, sciences and social services.

In a post on social media platform X, Modi said that Murty’s contributions to social work, philanthropy and education have been inspiring.

“Her presence in the Rajya Sabha is a powerful testament to our ‘Nari Shakti’ [women power], exemplifying the strength and potential of women in shaping our nation’s destiny,” the prime minister added.

Murty was awarded the Padma Shri in 2006 and the Padma Bhushan in 2023.

She is married to NR Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of the multinational information technology company Infosys, and has previously served as the firm’s chairperson. Murty remains a trustee of the Infosys Foundation, which she launched in 1996.

Rishi Sunak, the prime minister of the United Kingdom, is her son-in-law.

Murty is a writer in Kannada and English, with works spanning fiction, non-fiction and memoirs. Her collection of short stories, How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, is among her more popular books with the title story having been translated into over 15 languages.

In August, Murty was appointed to the National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee constituted by the National Council for Educational Research and Training to finalise the curriculum, textbooks and learning materials for classes 3 to 12.

She has also claimed to be the first woman engineer to be hired at the TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company, in the 1970s.

In May, when asked by reporters about the increasing communalisation of politics in Karnataka during the Assembly elections there, Murty said, “I am not a politically savvy person.”

“I do not belong to a political family,” Murty added. “I really don’t worry about those things. I think it is my duty as a citizen to cast my vote. And I have done whatever I feel right.”