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Manmohan Singh

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This article is about the Prime Minister of India. For the film director and cinematographer, see Manmohan Singh (director).
Manmohan Singh
ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ
मनमोहन सिंह
Prime Minister of India
Incumbent
Assumed office
22 May 2004
PresidentAbdul Kalam
Pratibha Patil
Preceded byAtal Bihari Vajpayee
External Affairs Minister of India
In office
6 November 2005 – 24 October 2006
Preceded byKunwar Natwar Singh
Succeeded byPranab Mukherjee
Finance Minister of India
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 November 2008
Preceded byP.Chidambaram
In office
21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996
Prime MinisterPamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao
Preceded byMadhu Dandavate
Succeeded byJaswant Singh
Governor of Reserve Bank of India
In office
1982–1985
Preceded byI. G. Patel
Succeeded byAmitav Ghosh
Personal details
Born (1932-09-26) 26 September 1932 (age 92)
Gah, Punjab, British India
Political partyIndian National Congress
SpouseGursharan Kaur
ChildrenUpinder Singh, Daman Singh, Amrit Singh
Residence(s)7 Racecourse Road, New Delhi
Alma materPunjab University, Chandigarh
St John's College, Cambridge University
Nuffield College, Oxford University
ProfessionEconomist

Dr. Manmohan Singh (Template:Lang-pa; born 26 September 1932) is the seventeenth and current Prime Minister of the Republic of India. He also served as the Union Minister for Finance, succeeding P. Chidambaram.[1] He was the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985 and held the post of the Finance Minister of India from 1991 to 1996 under Narsimha Rao-led government. Singh belongs to the Indian National Congress party and took oath as the Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004, becoming the first Sikh to hold the post.

An economist by profession, Singh has previously worked at organizations like the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations. During his tenure as the Finance Minister, he was widely credited for initiating economic reforms in India in 1991 which resulted in the end of the infamous Licence Raj system.[2]

Childhood and education

Manmohan Singh was born on 26 September, 1932, in Gah, [[Bihar region|Jharkhand jila kutta kameena] (now in tamil nadu District, Pakistan) into a Sikh Khatri family of Kohli clan. After the Partition of India, he migrated to Amritsar. He went to Punjab University to study Economics and attained his bachelor's and master's degree in 1952 and 1954 respectively, standing first throughout his academic career. He went on to read for the Economics Tripos at Cambridge University as a member of St John's College. (In the Oxbridge tradition, holders of the BA degree with honours are entitled in due course to an MA degree.) He won the Wright's Prize for distinguished performance in 1955 and 1957. He was also one of the few recipients of the Wrenbury scholarship. In 1962, Singh completed his D.Phil from the University of Oxford where he was a member of Nuffield College. The title of his doctoral thesis was "India’s export performance, 1951-1960, export prospects and policy implications", and his thesis supervisor was Dr I M D Little. From this thesis he published the book "India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth".[3]

In 1997, the University of Alberta presented him with an Honorary Doctor of Laws. The University of Oxford awarded him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in June 2005, and in October 2006, the University of Cambridge followed with the same honour. St John's College and the University of Cambridge further honored him by naming a PhD Scholarship after him, the Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarship.

Early career

After completing his D.Phil, Dr. Singh worked for UNCTAD (1966-1969). During the 1970s, he taught at the University of Delhi and worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Finance Ministry of India. In 1982, he was appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and held the post till 1985. He went on to become the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987.

Finance Minister of India

In 1991, India's then-Prime Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, chose Singh to be the Finance Minister. At the time, India was facing an economic crisis. Rao and Singh decided to open-up the Indian economy and change the socialist economic system to a capitalist economy. The economic reform package included dismantling License Raj that made it difficult for private businesses to exist and prosper, removal of many obstacles for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and initiating the process of the privatization of public sector companies. These economic reforms are credited with bringing high levels of economic growth in India, and changing the annual 3%, to an average of 8-9% economic growth in the following years. However, in spite of these reforms, Rao's government was voted out in 1996 due to non-performance of government in other areas.

Career in the Rajya Sabha

Singh was first elected to the upper house of the Indian Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, in 1995 and was re-elected in 2001 and 2007. From 1998 to 2004, while the National Democratic Alliance was in power, Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. In 1999, he ran for the Lok Sabha from South Delhi but was unable to win the seat.

Prime Ministership

After the 2004 general elections, the Indian National Congress stunned the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) by becoming the political party with the single largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. In a surprise move, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declared Manmohan Singh, a technocrat, as the UPA candidate for the Prime Minister post. Despite the fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, his considerable goodwill and Sonia Gandhi's nomination won him the support of the UPA allies and the Left Front.

During his tenure, Singh's administration has focused on reducing the fiscal deficit, providing debt-relief to poor farmers, extending social programs and advancing the pro-industry economic and tax policies that have launched the country on a major economic expansion course since 2002. However, his government has been criticized for not carrying forward the momentum in economic reforms. [citation needed]

Foreign Policy

Template:Infobox MSingh cabinet

A renowned economist,[4] Singh is also an internationally respected statesman. Shown here are BRIC leaders in 2008 - Manmohan Singh, Dmitry Medvedev, Hu Jintao and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Manmohan Singh and the External Affairs ministry have continued the pragmatic foreign policy that was started by P.V. Narasimha Rao and was continued by BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Prime Minister has continued the peace process with Pakistan initiated by his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Exchange of high-level visits by top leaders from both countries have highlighted his tenure, as has reduced terrorism and increased prosperity in the state of Kashmir. Efforts have been during Singh's tenure to end the border dispute with People's Republic of China. In November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India which was followed by Singh's visit to Beijing in January 2008. A major development in Sino-Indian ties was the reopening of the Nathula Pass in 2006 after being closed for more than 4 decades. In 2007, People's Republic of China became the biggest trade partner of India, with bilateral trade expected to surpass US$60 billion by 2010. However, there is a growing trade imbalance. Relations with Afghanistan have also improved considerably, with India now becoming the largest regional donor to Afghanistan.[5] During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi in August 2008, Manmohan Singh increased the aid package to Afghanistan for the development of more schools, health clinics, infrastructure, and defense.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh shakes hands with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney after delivering a speech to the Joint session of the United States Congress.

Singh's government has worked towards stronger ties with the United States. He visited the United States in July 2005 initiating negotiations over the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. This was followed by George W. Bush's successful visit to India in March 2006, during which the declaration over the nuclear agreement was made, giving India access to American nuclear fuel and technology while India will have to allow IAEA inspection of its civil nuclear reactors. After more than two years for more negotiations, followed by approval from the IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the US Congress, India and the U.S. signed the agreement on October 10, 2008.[6]

During Singh's tenure as India's Prime Minister, relations have improved with Japan and European Union countries, like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Relations with Iran have continued and negotiations over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline have taken place. New Delhi hosted an India-Africa Summit in April 2006 which was attended by the leaders of 15 African states.[7] Relations, have improved with other developing countries, particularly Brazil and South Africa. Singh carried forward the momentum which was established after the "Brasilia Declaration" in 2003 and the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formed.[8]

Manmohan Singh's government has also been especially keen on expanding ties with Israel. Since 2003, the two countries have made significant investments in each other[9] and Israel now rivals Russia to become India's defense partner.[10] Though there have been a few diplomatic glitches between India and Russia, especially over the delay and price hike of several Russian weapons to be delivered to India,[11] relations between the two remain strong with India and Russia signing various agreements to increase defense, nuclear energy and space cooperation.[12]

Economic Policy

Dr. Singh, along with the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, have presided over a period, where the Indian economy, has grown with an 8-9% economic growth rate. Dr. Singh, has focused on reducing the budget deficit. In June 2007, India became a trillion dollar economy. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9% and became the second fastest growing major economy in the world.[13][14] As prime minister, Dr. Singh, has continued the economic reforms, that he, and P.V. Narasimha Rao, started in 1991. Dr. Singh's government, has continued the Golden Quadrilateral, and the highway modernization program, that was initiated by Mr. Vajpayee's government. Dr. Singh, has also been working on reforming the banking and financial sectors, and has been working towards reforming public sector companies. The Finance ministry, Dr. Singh, and his government, has been working towards relieving farmers of their debt, and has been working towards pro-industry policies. During his tenure, the fiscal deficit, has reduced from 4.5% to 3.1%. In 2005, Dr. Singh's government, introduced, the VAT tax, that replaced the complicated sales tax. In 2007 and early 2008, inflation, became a big problem globally[15]. Dr. Singh's government, worked in concert with the Reserve Bank of India. It reached double-digits, during June-November 2008, before returning to single digits in November 2008.

Healthcare and Education

Manmohan Singh with Indian delegation at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm.

In 2005, Prime Minister Singh and his government's health ministry started the National Rural Health Mission, which has mobilized half a million community health workers.

Dr. Singh has announced that eight more Indian Institutes of Technology will be opened in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. The Singh government has also continued the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, begun by his predecessor, Mr. Vajpayee. The programme has included the introduction and improvement of Mid-day meals and the opening of schools all over India, especially in rural areas, to fight illiteracy. The ancient university, Nalanda University, shall be restarted, in Bihar.

Security and Home Affairs

Dr. Singh's government, has been criticised, by opposition parties for revoking POTA, and for the many bomb blasts in various cities, like in Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Delhi, Jaipur, etc. and for not being able to reduce the Naxal terrorism, that is menacing rural areas in Eastern and Central India. Dr. Singh's government, has however, extended the ban on the radical Islamic terror group, Student's Islamic Movement of India, (SIMI). Terrorism in Kashmir, has however, reduced significantly, during the Singh administration.

Legislation

The important NREGA act and the RTI act were passed by the Parliament in 2005 during his tenure. While the effectiveness of the NREGA has been successful at various degrees, in various regions, the RTI act has proved crucial in India's fight against corruption.

Criticism

Manmohan Singh received strong criticism from India's Communist Parties for his role in the implementation of the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. Shown here are Manmohan Singh and US President George W. Bush exchanging handshakes in New Delhi in 2006.

Some opposition parties have criticized Singh election as a Rajya Sabha member from Assam, arguing that he was not eligible to become a Member of Parliament from a state where he does not reside.[citation needed]

Manmohan Singh has been criticized by the Leader of Opposition and prominent member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Lal Krishna Advani, for being the "weakest Prime Minister until now".[16] Opposition parties in India, particularly the BJP, allege that Sonia Gandhi, the current Chairperson of the United Progressive Alliance, enjoys greater say in government affairs than the Prime Minister. Manmohan Singh and government officials have strongly rebuked the charge.[17][18]

On 22 July 2008 the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) faced its first confidence vote in the Lok Sabha after the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front withdrew support from the government over India approaching the IAEA for Indo-US nuclear deal. The President had asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to prove the majority. The UPA won the trust vote with 275-256, after two days of debate and deliberations. The vote was delayed by one hour due to allegations from the opposition BJP party that certain coalition allies of the government had bribed certain opposition parliamentarians to abstain from the confidence vote.[citation needed]

See also: 2008 Lok Sabha vote of confidence and Notes-for-Vote scandal

Personal life

Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958, and they have three daughters.[19] His eldest daughter, Upinder Singh is a professor of history at St. Stephen's College and author of six books including, Ancient Delhi (1999) and A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008).[20] His second daughter, Daman Singh, is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, New Delhi and Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, and author of The Last Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram and a novel Nine by Nine.[21] Singh's youngest daughter, Amrit Singh, is a staff attorney at American Civil Liberties Union[22] and is married to Barton Beebe, an Associate Professor of Law who specializes in intellectual property law.

Singh has a history of heart ailment and underwent coronary bypass surgery in 1990 and angioplasty in 2004. Singh also underwent a second bypass surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on January 24, 2009, in which doctors replaced three older grafts. A team of doctors led by surgeon Ramakant Panda and assisted by AIIMS doctors successfully performed a redo (repeat) bypass.[23] Mr.Singh resumed his duties on March 4,2009.

Degrees and posts held

Wikiquote has quotations related to Manmohan Singh.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Home minister Shivraj Patil quits, Chidambaram to take over". Times of India. 2008-11-30. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  2. ^ Biswas, Soutik (2005-10-14). "India's architect of reforms". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ "Curriculum Vitae" (PDF). Prime Minister's Office. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ Watson, Paul (2004-05-24). "Economist chosen to become next prime minister of India". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Bajoria, Jayshree (2008-10-23). "India-Afghanistan Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ "U.S., India ink historic civilian nuclear deal". People's Daily. 2008-10-11. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  7. ^ "Several African leaders to attend Africa-India summit, AU says". African Press International. 2008-03-28. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ Beri, Ruchita (2008-12-10). "IBSA Dialogue Forum: A Strategic Partnership". The African Executive. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  9. ^ Halarnkar, Samar (2007-10-23). "India and Israel: The great seduction". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  10. ^ Waldman, Amy (2003-09-07). "The Bond Between India and Israel Grows". New York Times. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ Dikshit, Sandeep (2008-04-17). "Centre admits to problems in naval deals". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  12. ^ Roychowdhury, Amitabh (2006-12-06). "India, Russia sign agreements to further strengthen ties". Outlook. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in.html#Econ
  14. ^ "The India Report" (PDF). Astaire Research.
  15. ^ http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/12/business/inflate.php
  16. ^ "Manmohan Singh India's weakest prime minister: Advani". Rediff. 2007-10-13. Retrieved 11 December 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  17. ^ "Manmohan to Advani: Change your astrologers, stop abuse against me". Thaindian News. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2008-07-23. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "Manmohan takes on Advani: Babri destruction his only contribution". Southasia Times. 2009-03-25. Retrieved 2009-03-28. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  19. ^ "Dr. Manmohan Singh: Personal Profile". Prime Minister's Office, Government of India. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  20. ^ Raote, Rrishi (2008-10-10). "This Singh is King of History". Business Standard. Retrieved 2009-04-04. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ "Meet Dr. Singh's daughter". Rediff.com. 2009-01-28. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  22. ^ Rajghatta, Chidanand (2007-12-21). "PM's daughter puts White House in the dock". Times of India. Retrieved 2008-10-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "One graft successfully performed on Manmohan Singh". The Hindu. 2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-01-24.
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Government of India links

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Rajya Sabha

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Political offices
Preceded by Governor of the Reserve Bank of India
1982 – 1985 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission of India
1985 – 1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Finance Minister of India
1991 – 1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for External Affairs of India
2005 – 2006 		Succeeded by
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