New Delhi: Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, passed away in Delhi on December 26, 2024, at the age of 92. He was admitted to the emergency department of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi for issues relating to heart disease and old age. He died a few hours after being admitted to hospital.
The noted economist changed the face of Indian economy by liberalising during his tenure as the Finance Minister in the PV Narasimha Rao government. He served as the Indian PM for two terms, from 2004 to 2014 and implemented several important policies for the development of the country. In his lifetime, Manmohan Singh donned many hats. In this article, we will trace his many roles before becoming the Finance Minister of India in 1991.
Manmohan Singh: The early years as academician
Born on September 26, 1932, in Gah (today in Pakistan’s Punjab), Manmohan Singh lost his mother at a very young age. His family migrated to India’s Haldwani after the Partition and they later moved to Amritsar. He went to Panjab University and obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from there. After that, he completed his Economics Tripos in 1957 at Cambridge University. He was a member of St John’s College. Once his work in Cambridge was over, Singh came back to India and became a teacher at Panjab University. In 1960, he went to the Oxford University for his DPhil.
Manmohan Singh: From senior lecturer to PM’s advisor
Manmohan Singh came back to India after completing his D.Phil and worked at the Panjab University from 1957 to 1959 as a senior lecturer of economics. There, he became a reader in economics and later served as an economics professor from 1963 to 1965 at the university. From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and later, Lalit Narayan Mishra appointed him as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Notably, Mishra was a minister in the Union Cabinet who spotted Singh’s talent as an economist.
Singh first became the chief economic adviser in the Finance Ministry and then became its secretary in 1976. In 1982, he was made the Reserve Bank of India’s governor and he served in that role until 1985. From 1985 to 1987, he served as the Planning Commission’s deputy chairman. From 1987 to November 1990, he was the secretary general of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank in Geneva. In November 1990, he returned to India and became the advisor to Prime Minister of India on economic affairs when Chandra Shekar was at the helm in the Centre. In March 1991, he became chairman of the University Grants Commission before being appointed India’s Finance Minister in June.
Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India, passed away on December 26, 2024. A renowned economist, his career spanned academia, government service, and ultimately, the role of the Prime Minister. knowledge Knowledge News, Photos and Videos on General Knowledge
