Manmohan Singh passes away
Former Prime Minister and Congress stalwart Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday at the age of 92. Singh breathed his last at AIIMS Delhi, where he was admitted on Thursday evening. (Photo: PM India website)
India’s 14th Prime minister
Dr Manmohan Singh served as the 14th Prime Minister of India from May 22, 2004, to May 26, 2014, becoming the first Sikh to hold this position. (Image credit: ANI)
Early life and education
Born on September 26, 1932, in the Punjab province of undivided India, Dr Singh completed his Matriculation from Punjab University in 1948, earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics from Cambridge in 1957, and a D. Phil in Economics from Oxford in 1962.
Political career in central ministries
The former Indian Prime Minister joined the Government of India in 1971 as economic advisor in the commerce ministry and subsequently became chief economic Advisor in the ministry of finance in 1972.
Parliamentary career
He had been a Member of the Rajya Sabha representing Congress since 1991 and was the Leader of the Opposition in the Upper House from 1998 to 2004.
Global representations
During his political career, he represented India at major international forums, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (1993) and the World Conference on Human Rights (1993).
Involvement in India's economic history
Singh spent five years between 1991 and 1996 as India's finance minister under the Narasimha Rao government. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is now recognised worldwide. In the popular view of those years in India, that period is inextricably associated with the persona of Singh.
Academic contributions
Dr Manmohan Singh taught at Punjab University and the Delhi School of Economics and authored India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth (1964), a critique of India's trade policies.
MNREGA scheme- a flagship program
One of the key decisions Manmohan Singh took as PM included the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) (2005), a flagship program that guaranteed 100 days of wage employment per year to rural households.
Awards and recognitions
He Singh received the Padma Vibhushan (1987) and international awards such as the Adam Smith Prize (1956) and Finance Minister of the Year awards (1993, 1994).