Narayana Murthy’s son-in-law inducted into UK government

Rishi Sunak, the son-in-law of Infosys chief Narayana Murthy, is among three new Indian-origin MPs to be inducted into the UK government by British Prime Minister Theresa May following the recent reshuffle of her team of ministers.

Sunak, 37, a Conservative party MP for Richmond (Yorkshire), has been appointed the new parliamentary under- secretary of state in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as part of a New Year reshuffle this week.

Sunak is joined by fellow pro-Brexit campaigner, Goan-origin Suella Fernandes, who takes charge as parliamentary under-secretary of state in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DExEU).

Sailesh Vara, Tory MP for North West Cambridgeshire, has also been appointed a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office. The former justice minister resumes his junior ministerial outing in the latest reshuffle.

“From working in my mum’s tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and innovation to ensure Britain has a stronger future,” said Sunak.The UK-born son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner father is married to Murthy’s daughter Akshata Murthy.

The addition of Sunak, Fernandes and Vara takes the number of Indian-origin MPs in Theresa May’s ministerial team to four, with Alok Sharma – Conservative Party MP for Reading West – moved from his post as housing minister to employment minister.

He tweeted that he was “looking forward” to his new role in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The British Prime Minister hailed “a new generation of gifted ministers to step up and make life better for people across the whole UK” as part of her New Year reshuffle, seen as slightly chaotic after an incorrect announcement had to be hastily withdrawn earlier this week.

Downing Street said that following this week’s reshuffle, there are more women attending UK Cabinet, more female ministers and more members of the government from ethnic minorities.

The number of women who are full Cabinet members has remained the same as before at six but the number of other senior female ministers also attend Cabinet has risen from two to four, taking the total number of women around the table to 10.