Manmohan Singh

He was born on September 26, 1932 in Gah, Punjab, British India, to Gurmukh Singh and his wife, Amrit Kaur. He lost his mother at a young age and was brought up by his grandmother.

He received his early education from the Hindu College, Amritsar, where his family migrated after the Partition of India.

Then, he was enrolled at the Panjab University, first in Chandigarh and then in Hoshiarpur. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics in 1952 and master’s degree in the same subject in 1954.

Then, as a student of St. John’s College, he attended the University of Cambridge and completed his honors degree in 1957.

In 1962, he earned his D.Phil. in Economics from Nuffield College, University of Oxford.

From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

From 1969 to 1971, he worked as a Professor of International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics.

In 1972, he was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor to the Ministry of Finance. In 1976, he became a Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.

He served as the Director of Reserve Bank of India from 1976 to 1980.

From 1980 to 1982, he worked for the Planning Commission of India. He served as the Governor of Reserve bank of India from 1982 to 1985.

As the Finance Minister of India, he was successful in implementing economic reforms that aimed at enhancing the productivity and liberalization of the economy. One of the most important measures he took was to free India from the ‘Licence Raj’—the root cause of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades.

As the Prime Minister, he invested his time in various national and global issues such as economy, health and education, terrorism and foreign affairs. He worked to improve the conditions of India’s poor, resolving conflicts with Pakistan and also towards improving relations among various religious groups of India.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister, National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act were passed by the Parliament in 2005. He also contributed in strengthening anti-terror laws with amendments to UAPA and in improving relations with the USA, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.