Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister for 10 years until Congress was decimated by the BJP in 2014.
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted Manmohan Singh on his birthday today, wishing him a long and healthy life. “Birthday greetings to Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. I pray to the Almighty that he is fortunate enough to have a long and healthy life,” PM Modi tweeted.
Dr Singh, who led the UPA coalition government between 2004 and 2014, is 88 today. The renowned economist, credited with bringing sweeping reforms in the 1990s, served as prime minister for 10 years until Congress was decimated by the BJP in 2014 and Prime Minister Modi took power for the first time.
Birthday greetings to Dr Manmohan Singh Ji. I pray to the Almighty that he will be blessed with a long and healthy life.
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 26, 2020
Dr Singh was born on September 26, 1932 in the village of Gah in the province of Punjab before the partition.
He studied at Panjab University and Cambridge University, UK, where he obtained a first class degree in economics in 1957. Dr Singh followed with a doctorate in economics from the University of ‘Oxford in 1962.
In 1971, Mr. Singh joined the government as an economic adviser to the Ministry of Commerce. He then assumed the role of Minister of Finance in the government of PV Narasimha Rao and carried out various structural reforms to get the country out of an economic crisis.
In 2004, he became Prime Minister after Sonia Gandhi refused to take the first post after the electoral victory of Congress. Towards the end of its second term, the Congressional government grappled with allegations of corruption and the economic downturn.
Dr Singh has been awarded India’s second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan (1987). Other awards and honors awarded to the chief congressman include the Jawaharlal Nehru Centenary of Birth Award from the Indian Scientific Congress (1995); the Asia Money Award for Minister of Finance of the Year (1993 and 1994); the Euro Money Award for Minister of Finance of the Year (1993), the Adam Smith Award from the University of Cambridge (1956); and the Wright Prize for Distinguished Performance at St. John’s College, Cambridge (1955).
Dr Singh has also been honored by a number of other associations, including the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Dr Singh is the recipient of honorary degrees from numerous universities, including the universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
