Born in Amritsar in the Indian Punjab, as a child Verma migrated with her parents to England, arriving in 1960.

[6] On 2 June 2006, she was created a life peer, taking the title Baroness Verma, of Leicester in the County of Leicestershire.

Until the formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition following the May 2010 general election, Verma was an Opposition Whip and Conservative Spokesperson in the House of Lords on Education and Skills and for Health.

[9] She was Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Department of Energy and Climate Change from 2012 to 2015, and then for International Development from May 2015 to July 2016.

[2] In September 2020 Verma apologised for not consulting the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments before taking a directorship in a family firm which made solar power contracts with the controversial Government of Uganda led by General Yoweri Museveni.