Manmohan Singh

Dr. Manmohan Singh (Gurmukhi: ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ, Devanagari: मनमोहन सिंह) is the fourteenth, and current, Prime Minister of India. He was born on 26 September, 1932, Gah, West Punjab (now in Pakistan) and is member of the left-of-centre Indian National Congress party. A Sikh by faith, Singh was sworn in on May 22, 2004.

Economic Reforms

Singh is regarded as the architect of India's original economic reform programme. His policies of economic liberalization, serving in his capacity as Finance Minister under the government of Narasimha Rao in the early 1990s, brought the country back from a looming economic bankruptcy. Now the country is enjoying record economic growth on the foundations laid by him. Singh is an economist by training, and has formerly served in the International Monetary Fund. He was educated at Nuffield College, Oxford, St John's College, Cambridge and Punjab University; he holds a doctorate in economics from Oxford.

Related Topics:
Finance Minister - Narasimha Rao - 1990s - Economist - International Monetary Fund - Nuffield College, Oxford - St John's College, Cambridge - Punjab University

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although his economic policies - which included the reduction of several redundant socialist policies - were widely popular, especially among the middle class, Singh lost his seat to the Lok Sabha from South Delhi in 1999. He was also a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam since 1991 and the upper house leader of the opposition from 1998 - 2004 when India was governed by the right-of-center Bharatiya Janata Party, or BJP.

Related Topics:
Lok Sabha - Delhi - 1999 - Rajya Sabha - Assam - 1991 - 1998 - 2004 - Bharatiya Janata Party

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Although an economic modernization plan presented by Singh was rejected by the Congress Party, which avowed itself to socialism, the reforms he introduced are regarded as primarily responsible for the present economic boom the country enjoys, and considered irreversible in face of the real progress achieved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~