Eminent economist, visionary politician and former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh died today at the age of 92 in AIIMS Hospital, Delhi. The bulletin issued by AIIMS said that he died due to age-related diseases.
Eminent economist, visionary politician and former Prime Minister of India from 2004 to 2014, Dr. Manmohan Singh has been one of the respected leaders not only of India but also of the world.
Singh was born on 26 September 1932 in Gah, a small village in present-day Pakistan. Manmohan Singh’s family, who faced the horrors of partition, left Pakistan in 1947 and settled in India. Although his childhood was not easy, his passion for studies always remained. His study journey is given below:-
- Graduated in Economics from Punjab University.
- Graduated from Cambridge University
- Doctorate in Economics from Oxford University
Dr. Singh started his career as a teacher. He first taught economics at Punjab University and then at Delhi University. In the year 1971, Singh was appointed as the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India. He made significant contributions to the formulation of economic policies during his tenure as economic advisor. He was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1982 and 1985 and then he also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission between 1985 and 1987.
Manmohan Singh’s most important role was as the Finance Minister from 1991 to 1996 when India was going through a severe balance of payments crisis in 1991. The then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao trusted Singh and entrusted him with the task of pulling the economy out of the crisis.
During that period, Singh introduced many revolutionary reforms, which liberalized the Indian economy. The major steps taken by him were:-
- Reducing trade barriers
- Deregulating industries
- Encouraging foreign investment
After these reforms, India’s closed economy gradually started opening up to the world. As a result of these efforts, India not only achieved rapid economic growth but also experienced a reduction in poverty levels, and greater integration into the global economy.
As Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh led the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for two consecutive terms i.e. for 10 years. His tenure had significant achievements as well as challenges. The major achievements during his tenure were:
- India’s impressive GDP growth rate continued.
- Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) came into force.
- The Right to Information Act came into force in 2005.
- The Indo-US civil nuclear agreement came into force in 2008 which ended India’s nuclear isolation and paved the way for international cooperation in civil nuclear energy.
Singh also faced criticism during his tenure. During his second term as Prime Minister, his government was surrounded by corruption allegations like the 2G spectrum scam and the coal allocation scam.
Dr Manmohan Singh is survived by his wife Gursharan Kaur and three daughters.