Manmohan Singh (born 26 September 1932) is the 14th , and current Prime Minister of India. Regarded by some as the 'most educated' Indian Prime Minister in history, Singh is a member of the Indian National Congress party, and became the first Sikh Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004. He is considered one of the most qualified and influential figures in India's recent history, mainly because of the economic reforms he had initiated in 1991 when he was Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.
Singh, an economist by profession, worked for the International Monetary Fund in his younger days. Dr. Singh is known to be an unassuming politician, enjoying a formidable, highly respected and admired image. Due to his work at the UN, International Monetary Fund and other international bodies, he is highly respected around the world. He was awarded the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2002. Before becoming Prime Minister, he served as the Finance Minister under Narasimha Rao. He is credited for transforming the economy in the early 90s during the financial crisis. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Upper house, from March 1998 - May 2004 when the Bharatiya Janata Party led coalition government was in office.
His economic policies - which included getting rid of several socialist policies especially the License Raj - were popular. He enjoys strong support among the middle classes of India due to his education. Singh lost his seat in the Lok Sabha from South Delhi constituency in 1999 general elections. He is thus the only Indian Prime Minister never to have been an elected member of the Lower House of Parliament. He has been a member of the Rajya Sabha from Assam since 1995. He was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2001 and 2007.
Read more |