<Tr> <Th> Residence </Th> <Td> Bangalore, Karnataka, India </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Alma mater </Th> <Td> Seethalakshmi Ramaswamy College, Tiruchirapalli Jawaharlal Nehru University </Td> </Tr> <P> Nirmala Sitharaman (born 18 August 1959) is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party, currently serving as the Minister of Defence in the Narendra Modi government . She is also a member of the Rajya Sabha for Karnataka . </P> <P> Sitharaman has formerly served as the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs under the Ministry of Finance and the Minister for Commerce and Industry with independent charge . Prior to that, she has served as a national spokesperson for the BJP . </P>

Who is the present defence minister of karnataka