Who was the Finance Minister of India as of 31 August 2018?

Arun Jaitley
P Chidambaram
Yashwant Sinha
Jaswant Singh

The correct answer is A. Arun Jaitley.

Arun Jaitley was the Finance Minister of India from 2014 to 2018. He was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat. He was also the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from 2014 to 2016.

Jaitley was born in Mumbai on 28 December 1952. He studied law at the University of Delhi and the London School of Economics. He started his career as a lawyer and then entered politics in the early 1980s. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1991 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2004. He was also the Minister of Law and Justice from 1998 to 2004.

Jaitley was a close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was one of the architects of the BJP’s victory in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He was appointed Finance Minister in the Modi government in 2014.

As Finance Minister, Jaitley was responsible for the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). He also played a key role in the demonetization of the ₹500 and ₹1,000 notes in 2016.

Jaitley was a controversial figure. He was often criticized for his handling of the economy. He was also accused of corruption. However, he was also a respected politician and a strong advocate of economic reforms.

Jaitley died on 24 August 2019 at the age of 66. He was survived by his wife, three children, and a grandchild.