Manmohan

Singh Biography
Manmohan Singh is an Indian economist and politician who
served as the Prime Minister of India for two consecutive terms.
This biography provides detailed information about his
childhood, life, academic & political career, achievements &
timeline.
Quick Facts
Famous
as

Former Prime Minister of India

Nationality Indian
Religion

Sikhism

Born on

26 September 1932 AD

Zodiac
Sign

Libra

Born in

Gah

Father

Gurmukh Singh

Mother

Amrit Kaur

Spouse:

Gursharan Kaur (1958present)

Children

Upinder, Daman, Amrit

Education

St John's College, Cambridge (19561957), Panjab

University, Chandigarh (1954), Panjab University,
Chandigarh (1952), Nuffield College, Oxford, Hindu
College, University of Delhi

Quick Facts
2010 - World Statesman Award
2005 - Top 100 Influential People in the World
2002 - Outstanding Parliamentarian Award
2000 - Annasaheb Chirmule Award
1999 - H.H. Kanchi Sri Paramacharya Award for
Excellence
1999 - Fellow of the National Academy of
Agricultural Sciences
New Delhi
1997 - Lokmanya Tilak Award
1997 - Justice K.S. Hegde Foundation Award
1997 - Nikkei Asia prize for Regional Growth
1995 - Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award
(199495)
Awards

1994 - Finance Minister of the Year

1994 - Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award
(199495)
1994 - Elected Distinguished Fellow of the London
School of Economics
1994 - Elected Honorary Fellow of the All India
Management Association
1993 - Finance Minister of the Year
1987 - Padma Vibhushan
1986 - Elected National Fellow
National Institute of Education
1985 - Elected President of the Indian Economic
Association
1956 - Adam Smith Prize
1955 - Wright Prize for Distinguished Performance

IBSA-leaders Manmohan Singh by Ricardo Stuckert

Manmohan Singh is an eminent Indian economist and politician
who served as the Prime Minister of India for two consecutive
terms. He held prominent posts in different organizations and
received several honors for his brilliant work even before
beginning his political career. He held various posts such as
advisor to the Foreign Trade Ministry, Chief Economic Advisor
in the Ministry of Finance, Governor of Reserve Bank of India,
and Head of the Planning Commission. As the Finance Minister
in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government in the 1990s, he carried
out several structural reforms that liberalised India's economy,
which enhanced Singh's reputation as a leading reform-minded
economist. In 2004, he was elected to be the Prime Minister of
India which came as a surprise as everybody was expecting
Sonia Gandhi, being the head of the UPA, to take up the post.
His no-nonsense image and a brilliant bureaucratic experience
were once again acknowledged by the people and he was reelected as the Prime Minister in 2009. However, in his second
term, he was criticized for fostering too close a relationship with
the United States and his party faced further allegations of
corruption which eventually led to the deterioration of the
partys popularity with the public. Despite the criticism, he is still
regarded as the key architect to usher India into a new
economic mould. A great thinker, scholar and a talented
economist, he is the only prime minister since Jawaharlal
Nehru, to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.
Childhood & Early Life

He was born on September 26, 1932 in Gah, Punjab,

British India, to Gurmukh Singh and his wife, Amrit Kaur.
He lost his mother at a young age and was brought up by
his grandmother.
He received his early education from the Hindu College,
Amritsar, where his family migrated after the Partition of
India.
T hen, he was enrolled at the Panjab University, first in
Chandigarh and then in Hoshiarpur. He earned his
bachelor s degree in economics in 1952 and master s
degree in the same subject in 1954.
T hen, as a student of St. Johns College, he attended the
University of Cambridge and completed his honors degree
in 1957.
In 1962, he earned his D.Phil. in Economics from Nuffield
College, University of Oxford.
Care e r
From 1966 to 1969, he worked for the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
From 1969 to 1971, he worked as a Professor of
International Trade at the Delhi School of Economics.
In 1972, he was appointed as the Chief Economic Advisor
to the Ministry of Finance. In 1976, he became a
Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
He served as the Director of Reserve Bank of India from
1976 to 1980.
From 1980 to 1982, he worked for the Planning
Commission of India. He served as the Governor of
Reserve bank of India from 1982 to 1985.
In 1985, he was appointed as the Deputy Chairman of the
Planning Commission of India, a post he held till 1987.
From 1987 to 1990, he worked as the Secretary General
of the South Commission, an independent economic thinktank based in Geneva, Switzerland.

In 1990, he became the Advisor on Economic Affairs to the

Prime Minister, following his return to India.
In 1991, he became the Chairman of the University Grants
Commission (UGC).
In 1991, Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao appointed him
as the Finance Minister of India in his government - a post
Singh held until 1996.
From 1998 to 2004, he served as the Leader of Opposition
in the Upper House, while the Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) was in power.
In 2004 General Elections, Indian National Congress party
joined hands with the allies, formed the United
Progressive Alliance (UPA) and defeated BJP. Congress
leader, Sonia Gandhi recommended Singhs name for the
post of Prime Minister and on May 22, 2004, he became
the 14th Prime Minister of India.
In 2009, UPA was again successful in forming the
government in the 15th Lok Sabha elections and he was
re-elected as the Prime Minister of India on 22nd May
2009.
In 2014 General Elections, Bhartiya Janta Party defeated
the UPA with a huge margin. As a result, he resigned from
his post on May 17, 2014.
Major Works
As the Finance Minister of India, he was successful in
implementing economic reforms that aimed at enhancing
the productivity and liberalization of the economy. One of
the most important measures he took was to free India
from the Licence Rajthe root cause of slow economic
growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades.
As the Prime Minister, he invested his time in various
national and global issues such as economy, health and
education, terrorism and foreign affairs. He worked to
improve the conditions of Indias poor, resolving conflicts
with Pakistan and also towards improving relations among

various religious groups of India.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister, National Rural
Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to
Information Act were passed by the Parliament in 2005. He
also contributed in strengthening anti-terror laws with
amendments to UAPA and in improving relations with the
USA, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Aw ards & Achie v e m e nts
In 1987, he received the Padma Vibhushan, the second
highest civilian award in the Republic of India.
In 1993, he was named the Finance Minister of the Year
by Euromoney and Asiamoney.
He was awarded honorary professorship by Jawaharlal
Nehru University in 1976 and then, in 1996 by Delhi
School of Economics, University of Delhi.
He was the recipient of honorary doctorate degree from
several prestigious institutions such as University of
Alberta (1997), University of Oxford (2005), University of
Cambridge (2006) and King Saud University (2010).
In 2005, he was listed among the Top 100 Influential
People in the World in Time magazine.
In 2014, he received the honor of Grand Cordon of the
Order of the Paulownia Flowers from the Government of
Japan.
Pe rsonal Life & Le gacy
In 1958, he married Gursharan Kaur and they were
blessed with three daughters; Upinder, Daman and Amrit.