Dr Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, a senior Congress leader and former member of the Rajya Sabha, passed away peacefully in the late evening hours of December 26, 2024, at AIIMS, New Delhi.

“With profound grief, we inform the demise of the former Prime Minister of India, Dr Manmohan Singh, aged 92. He was being treated for age-related medical conditions and had a sudden loss of consciousness at home on 26 December 2024. Resuscitative measures were started immediately at home. He was brought to the Medical Emergency at AIIMS, New Delhi at 8:06 PM. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9:51 PM” - AIIMS, New Delhi

Sources say that he was brought to AIIMS earlier in the evening in critical condition as his health deteriorated.

The former Prime Minister will be remembered as a powerful and forward looking economist who was the architect of economic liberalisation in India.

Dr Singh had retired from the Rajya Sabha earlier this year, after a stint in the Upper House which lasted more than three decades. He was first elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, followed by re-elections in 1995, 2001, 2007 and 2013. He served as the Prime Minister of India from 2004 till 2014, making him the fourth-longest serving PM after Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Narendra Modi, the current Prime Minister.

Birth and Early Education

Born in Gah (Pakistan), in 1932, Dr Singh’s family migrated to India in 1947 during the Partition. Their first domicile was in Haldwani in Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Dr Singh lost his mother when he was still a child and was taken care of by his grandparents. The family later moved to Amritsar, where Dr Singh studied at the Hindu College and then moved to Punjab University to study Economics.

He completed his Bachelor’s in 1952 and Master’s in 1954. He then moved to the University of Cambridge and completed Economics Tripos in 1957. It was at Cambridge that Dr Singh was made aware of the role of politics in shaping human affairs. His influence were his teachers, Nicholas Kaldor and Joan Robinson. Post Cambridge, Dr Singh returned to Punjab and taught at the Punjab University. He then went back to England and did his DPhil from the University of Oxford in 1962.

Career and Politics

Dr Singh continued with his teaching career at Punjab University till 1965, after which he worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1966 till 1969. He later taught International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics from 1969 till 1971. Then came his first foray into bureaucracy and politics, which in chronological order, is as follows:

• 1971: Advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Trade
• 1972: Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance
• 1976: Secretary, Finance Ministry
• 1980: Member of Planning Commission
• 1982: Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
• 1985: Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission
• 1987: Secretary General of South Commission, Switzerland
• 1990: Advisor to Prime Minster of India, Chandra Shekar
• 1991: Chairman of University Grants Commission
• 1991: Finance Minister of India (Narsimha Rao government)
• 2004-2014: Prime Minister of India

Dr Singh was credited with the economic reforms in India during his tenure as Finance Minister with the Narsimha Rao government. Ending the License Raj was one of his landmark works, making India the economy giant that it is today. His other initiatives, viz. Right to Information Act and MNREGA in 2005, Aadhar and RTI in 2009 and the Nuclear deal in 2006 are landmark decisions in India’s policy making.