Dr.
Manmohan Singh
Dr.
Manmohan Singh, the
present
Prime Minister of India was born on September 26th, 1932 in
Gah
(West Punjab) now in Pakistan. Known as a gentleman politician,
Dr.Manmohan
Singh has brought about far reaching reforms in India's economic growth.
His
father, Gurumukh Singh
was
a fruit merchant and his mother was Amrit Kaur. He was one of their ten
children. He had his earlier education in Punjab University and then in
Oxford
and Cambridge. His potential was evident when he won Cambridge's
prestigious
Adam Smith Pize in 1956. He also won the Wright's Prize for
distinguished
performance at St. Johns's College, Cambridge in 1955 & 1957. His
doctoral
thesis was on India’s export-promotion activities.
After
his return to India
he
served as lecturer in Punjab University (1957-1966). He then went on to
serve
the UNCTAD (United Nations Council on Trade and Agricultural
Development) for
about three years till 1969. Then he joined the Delhi School of
Economics as a
professor.
Two
years later, his
academic
career was cut short and he joined the government to serve in various
capacities. He served as Economic Adviser, Finance Secretary, Governor
of RBI
(Reserve Bank of India), Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and
Chairman of
UGC (University Grants Commission) till the early 90's.
It was
in 1991 that Dr.
Singh
was asked to take up the portfolio Finance Minister in P.V. Narasimha
Rao's
cabinet. It came as a surprise to him. His friends said, “You are
going to be a
scapegoat. You will not last for more than six months”. Dr. Singh
replied, “I
have held several civil service posts, but only now I have got the
opportunity
to be a part of politics. There is a slender chance of being
successful; in
that case I would have a footnote in India's history”.
When
he took over, India's
economy was in shambles and the country was plunging into bankruptcy.
India had
an unsustainable fiscal deficit of 8.5 per cent of the GDP. Its foreign
exchange reserves had sunk to a very low level. In his maiden speech as
Finance
Minister, he quoted Victor Hugo's- "No power on earth can stop an idea
whose time has come". Dr. Singh decided to slowly start the process of
restructuring the economy.
He put
one condition
before the
Prime Minister, Mr. Narasimha Rao. He said he needed a free hand with
minimum
interference. The Prime Minister fully supported Dr. Singh's vision and
India
embarked on a path of reforms. He slashed red tapism, simplifled the
tax
system, and removed stifling controls and regulations to create an
environment
conducive to business. This resulted in economic revival, industrial
growth,
control of inflation and high growth rate. His liberisation policy
edged India
as a global player and helped India to manifolds.
He
changed the way the
corporate India thinks and with it the lives of millions of
middle-class
Indians. He changed the outlook of foreigners towards India. He has won
several
awards during his illustrious career viz., the Padma Vibhushan (1987),
Euro
Money Award, Finance Minister of the year (1993) and Asia Money Award
and
Finance Minister of the year for Asia (1994).
The
architect of India’s economic reforms has
nothing but admiration from all fellow Indians. He is hard working,
meticulous
and a humane. He leads a simple life, and spends most of his time
reading. He
has a photographic memory and prepares all his lectures and speeches
himself.
India is indeed fortunate to have Dr. Manmohan Singh as its Prime
Minister at
present.
