JNU alumni Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar to be awarded with university's 'Distinguished Alumni Award', to be first recipients of the honour

The Executive Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in its meeting on Wednesday decided to honour Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar with the 'Distinguished Alumni Award' on the third convocation of the university, which will be held in August.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman studied in the School of Social Sciences and School of International Studies of the university for her MA and M Phil degrees respectively.

Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar also studied in the School of International Studies where he completed his M Phil and Doctoral research with the specialisation in nuclear diplomacy.

A press release from the university stated: "Their highly distinguished career and achievements have made the University very proud and they are a great source of inspiration for JNU students and researchers."

The Union Ministers will be the first recipients of the 'Distinguished Alumni Award,' which is to be conferred by the university.

Read the press release below:

On the occasion of the swearing-in ceremony, Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar had congratulated the varsity's alumni Sitharaman and S Jaishankar on being inducted into the Union cabinet.

Following the oath-taking ceremony, Nirmala Sitharaman was given the portfolio of Finance with an additional charge of Minister of Corporate Affairs.  In the previous term held by Modi government (2014-2019), she was made the Minister of State, Commerce and Industry, with independent charge in 2014 after being elected as the member of Rajya Sabha from Andhra Pradesh.

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Meanhile, Padma Shri awardee S Jaishankar has served as foreign secretary in January 2015, after PM Modi dismissed the foreign secretary Sujatha Singh. He has been the country's longest-serving foreign secretary in four decades and helped craft much of PM Modi's foreign policy.

A former ambassador to China, Jaishankar had played a key role in resolving the crisis following the incursion in Ladakh's Depsang and the 73 days long Doklam stand-off, handling the tough negotiations with Beijing. 

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(With ANI inputs)