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 and wished him a long and healthy life. “Birthday wishes to Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji. I pray to Almighty that he is blessed with a long and healthy life,” Prime Minister Modi tweeted.
Dr. Singh, who headed the UPA coalition government between 2004 and 2014, turned 88 today. The renowned economist, credited with introducing sweeping reforms in the 1990s, was 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 you 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 town of Gah in Punjab province before Partition.
He studied at Panjab University and Cambridge University, UK, where he obtained a first-class honors degree in Economics in 1957. Dr. Singh obtained a Ph.D. in Economics from Oxford University in 1962.
In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the government as an Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Commerce. He later assumed the position of finance minister in PV Narasimha Rao’s government and carried out various structural reforms to lift the country out of an economic crisis.
In 2004, he became Prime Minister after Sonia Gandhi refused to hold the highest office following the electoral victory of Congress. Towards the end of his second term, the congressional government battled allegations of corruption and an economic slowdown.
Dr. Singh has been awarded the second highest civil honor in India, the Padma Vibhushan (1987). The other awards and honors given to the senior leader of the Congress include the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centennial Award from the Indian Science Congress (1995); the Asian Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993 and 1994); the Euro Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993), the Adam Smith Award from the University of Cambridge (1956); and the Wright’s Prize for Distinguished Performance at St. John’s College in Cambridge (1955).
Dr. Singh has also been honored by several other associations, including the Japanese Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Dr. Singh has received honorary degrees from many universities, including the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford.
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