Sudha Murty

Sudha Murty
Murty at Rashtrapati Bhavan in 2023
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Assumed office
8 March 2024 (2024-03-08)
Nominated byDroupadi Murmu
ConstituencyNominated (Philanthropy, Literature & Education)
Personal details
Born
Sudha Kulkarni

(1950-08-19) 19 August 1950
Shiggaon, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India
Spouse
(m. 1978)
ChildrenAkshata Murty (daughter)
Rohan Murty (son)
RelativesShrinivas Kulkarni (brother)
Sunanda Kulkarni (sister)
Gururaj Deshpande (brother-in-law)
Rishi Sunak (son-in-law)
Alma materKLE Technological University (BE)
Indian Institute of Science (ME)
Occupation
  • Educator
  • author
  • philanthropist
Awards
OrganisationInfosys Foundation
Notable work

Sudha Murty (née Kulkarni; born 19 August 1950) is an Indian educator, author, and philanthropist. She is the Founder-Chairperson of the non-profit charitable organization Infosys Foundation. She is married to the co-founder of Infosys, N. R. Narayana Murthy. In 2024, Murty was nominated as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha on 8 March 2024 for her contribution to social work and education. Murty was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award in India, for social work by the Government of India in 2006. In 2023, she was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award in India.

Sudha Murty began her professional career in computer science and engineering. She is a member of the public health care initiatives of the Gates Foundation. She has founded several orphanages, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities, and established Murty Classical Library of India at Harvard University.

Murty is best known for her philanthropy and her contribution to literature in Kannada and English. Dollar Bahu (lit.'Dollar Daughter-in-Law'), a novel originally authored by her in Kannada and later translated into English as Dollar Bahu, was adapted as a televised dramatic series by Zee TV in 2001. Runa (lit.'Debt'), a story by Sudha Murty was adapted as a Marathi film, Pitruroon by director Nitish Bhardwaj. Sudha Murty has also acted in the film as well as a Kannada film Prarthana.