# Sudha Murty

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.

## Early life and education

Sudha Murty was born to a Marathi-speaking family on 19 August 1950 in Shiggaon, Haveri district in Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India, the daughter of R. H. Kulkarni, a surgeon, and his wife Vimala Kulkarni, a schoolteacher. She was raised by her parents and maternal grandparents. These childhood experiences form the historical basis for her first notable work entitled How I Taught My Grandmother to Read, Wise and Otherwise and Other Stories. Murty completed a BEng in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the B.V.B. College of Engineering & Technology (now known as KLE Technological University), and then a MEng in Computer Science from the Indian Institute of Science.

## Career

Sudha Murty became the first female engineer hired at India's largest auto manufacturer TATA Engineering and Locomotive Company (TELCO). She joined the company as a Development Engineer in Pune and then worked in Mumbai and Jamshedpur as well. She had written a postcard to the company's Chairman complaining of the "men only" gender bias at TELCO. As a result, she was granted a special interview and hired immediately. She later joined Walchand Group of Industries at Pune as Senior Systems Analyst.
In 1996, she started Infosys Foundation and retired in 2020. She also taught at Christ University.
Sudha Murty has written and published many books which include novels, non-fiction, travelogues, technical books, and memoirs. Her books have been translated into all major Indian languages. She is also a columnist for English and Kannada newspapers.

## Philanthropy

Murty's Infosys Foundation is a public charitable trust founded in 1996.

## Personal life

Sudha Murty is married to Infosys co-founder N. R. Narayana Murthy. They married when she was employed as an engineer at TELCO in Pune. The couple have two children, including fashion designer Akshata Murty, who is married to former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak.
Her siblings include Dr. Sunanda Kulkarni, Caltech astrophysicist Shrinivas Kulkarni and Jaishree Deshpande (wife of Gururaj Deshpande) who co-founded the Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation at MIT.

## Awards

* 2004: Raja-Lakshmi Award by Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai
* 2006: India's fourth highest civilian award Padma Shri
* 2006: She also received the R.K. Narayana's Award for Literature.
* 2010: Daana Chintamani Attimabbe Award by Karnataka Government.
* 2011: Murty was conferred honorary LL.D (Doctor of Laws) degrees for contributions to promote formal legal education and scholarship in India.
* 2013: Basava Shree-2013 Award was presented to Narayan Murty & Sudha Murty for their contributions to society.
* 2018: Murty received the Crossword Book award in popular (Non-Fiction) category.
* 2019: IIT Kanpur awarded her Honorary Degree (Honoris Causa) of Doctor of Science.
* 2023: Padma Bhushan by the Government of India
* 2023: Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar.
* 2023: The Global Indian Award, which is worth $50, 000, is given each year to a prominent Indian who has made a major mark in his or her chosen field. Her husband Narayana Murthy too got the same award in 2014, so they became first couple conferred with this award. She donated the sum to the Field Institute (University of Toronto).