Manmohan Singh Death: Top Facts About Ex-PM, Noted Economist And The Man Who Liberalised Indian Economy

Besides his role as the PM, Manmohan Singh also held office at many posts in the planning commission and also worked as an Economic Advisor at the RBI. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1987.

File photo of Manmohan Singh.

Source : PTI

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh passed away at Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at the age of 92. He was admitted to the emergency department at the AIIMS Delhi on Thursday evening. The economist exited public life after taking retirement from the Rajya Sabha. He slipped out of politics without any ceremony just like he entered it 33 years ago.

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The Congress leader who is known to be the architect of India's economic reforms is hailed for placing India on the road to liberalisation in the early 1990s. Besides his role in India's political landscape, he has also held office at many posts in the planning commission and has also worked as an economic advisor at the Reserve Bank of India. 

 Here are some facts about Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh:

• Manmohan Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in Gah village, which is now in Pakistan's Punjab province.
• Singh lost his mother at an early age and was raised by his grandmother. He was extremely dedicated towards his studies and used to study under a kerosene-lit lamp as there was no electricity in his village.
• He pursued Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Economics from Panjab University in 1952 and 1954. He then went on to complete his Economic Tripos in 1957 from Cambridge University and then pursued a D.Phil in Economics from Oxford in 1962.
• In 1971, he joined the Government of India as an Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. Before this, he even taught at the Panjab University and Delhi School of Economics.
• After a year he was promoted to Chief Economic Advisor in the Finance Ministry in 1972.
• From 1987-1990, he worked as the Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva. In 1991, he was appointed the Chairman of the University Grants Commission.
• In addition to these stints, Manmohan Singh also held the positions of Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Secretary in the Finance Ministry, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, and Advisor to the Prime Minister.
• It was in June 1991 that he was appointed as the Finance Minister in PV Narasimha Rao's cabinet, which led him to make a place amongst the eminent people who were responsible for India's post-liberalisation.
• After being elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, he was re-elected four more times from Assam in 1995, 2001, 2007, and 2013. In June 2019, he was elected to the House again as a member from Rajasthan. His term ended on April 3, 2019.
• Singh, however, could not become a member of the Lok Sabha. He contested the general elections once in 1991 and was defeated by BJP's Vijay Kumar Malhotra from the South Delhi constituency.
• He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from March 21, 1998 to May 21, 2004. He also led the house when he was the PM.
• Manmohan Singh was elected as the Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004. He held the post till 2014. For a decade, he steered Congress's ship till the BJP won with a landslide victory in 2014.
• He was awarded with Padma Vibhushan in 1987.
• Euromoney and Asiamoney named him as the Finance Minister of the Year in 1993.