The Executive Council of JNU approved a proposal to bestow the award on Finance Minister Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, during the third convocation of the varsity to be held in August this year, Pramod Kumar, the university registrar, said.

Sitharaman completed her MA and M Phil degrees from the School of Social Sciences and School of International Studies, respectively.

Jaishankar completed his M Phil and doctoral research in the School of International Studies where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy.

"Their highly distinguished career and achievements have made the university very proud and they are a great source of inspiration for JNU students and researchers. They will be the first recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Award to be conferred by the university," Kumar said.