Achi news desk-
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
– Photo: PTI
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Former Prime Minister and veteran economist Manmohan Singh bid farewell to political life with his retirement from the Rajya Sabha. Manmohan Singh, called India’s reformer for his economic reforms, may have bid farewell to his 33 years of public life without any grand ceremony, but the former prime minister who showed India the path to liberalisation, from economist to prime minister. The journey was very wonderful. India achieved many achievements during his tenure, although he was criticized at times.
Known for his soft-spoken and humble nature, Manmohan Singh became a member of the Rajya Sabha for the first time in October 1991. He then became a member of the upper house six consecutive times. He can never come from the Lok Sabha. However, in 1999, Manmohan Singh contested the Lok Sabha elections from the South Delhi Lok Sabha seat, in which he lost to the BJP’s Vijay Kumar Malhotra. These were the first and last elections in the life of the Lok Sabha. From 1 October 1991 to 14 June 2019, he was a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam for five consecutive terms. In 2019, after a gap of two months, he again returned to the Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan. He was the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government from 1991 to 1996. Later he was also the Prime Minister of the state from 2004 to 2014. Not only that, from March 21, 1998 to May 21, 2004 he was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. After that, even when he was prime minister between 2004 and 2014, he was the leader of the house.
Manmohan Singh held so many positions
Born on September 26, 1932 in the village of Gah (Punjab Province, Pakistan), Singh received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics from the University of the Punjab in 1952 and 1954 respectively. He then completed his economics tripos from Cambridge University in 1957. Then, in 1962, he did a D.Phil in Economics from the University of Oxford. Dr. Singh served as Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Foreign Trade, Chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance and Secretary to the Ministry of Finance. He served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1976 to 1980 and then as Governor from 1982 to 1985. He was also the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission. and chairman of the university’s grants committee.