Parakala Prabhakar (born 2 January 1959) is an Indian economist and political commentator. He served as communication advisor in the

Government of Andhra Pradesh The Government of Andhra Pradesh, abbreviated as GoAP, is the Administrative division, state government and the administrative body responsible for the governance of the States of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is the capital ...

from July 2014 to June 2018. For several years, he presented current affairs discussion programme on Telugu television channels, such as ''Pratidhwani'' on ETV2 and ''Namaste Andhra Pradesh'' on NTV. He was formerly a spokesperson of Praja Rajyam Party. He is the husband of

Nirmala Sitharaman Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian economist, politician and a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) serving as the Minister of Finance and Minister of Corporate Affairs of the Government of India since 2019. ...

, union

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and Minister of Corporate Affairs. He is also the author of the book '' The Crooked Timber of New India - Essays on a Republic in Crisis''.

Early life and education

Prabhakar was born in a prominent Telugu-speaking family in Narsapuram,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

. He belongs to Congress members' family. His mother, Parakala Kalikamba, was a

Member of Legislative Assembly A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several national ...

in Andhra Pradesh, while his father, Parakala Seshavatharam, was a long-time legislator from Narasapuram and served in three successive cabinets in the state of Andhra Pradesh in the 1970s and early 1980s. Prabhakar graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the Andhra Loyola College,

Vijayawada Vijayawada ( ), formerly known by its colonial name Bezawada, is the second largest city and a major commercial hub in the Andhra Pradesh state of India. The city forms an integral part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is situated on th ...

. He then did his Master of Arts (M.A.) and Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) from the

Jawaharlal Nehru University Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU; ISO: Javāharalāla Neharū Viśvavidyālaya) is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

. He later studied at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

and was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in economics from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

in 1991. Prabhakar married

in 1986, who became the Minister of

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India in Narendra Modi's cabinet. They have a daughter.

Political career

He was one of the founding members of the Praja Rajyam Party and was appointed as a spokesperson of the party. However, in April 2009, he quit the party, a few months before the state election, citing disagreements with the party's functioning.

References

4
Review of The Crooked Timber of New India — Essays on a Republic in Crisis: India after 2014
The Hindu June 08, 2023 , Updated June 09, 2023

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prabhakar, Parakala Living people Jawaharlal Nehru University alumni Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of the University of London 1959 births People from West Godavari district Praja Rajyam Party politicians Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Andhra Pradesh