Manmohan Singh: Architect of Economic Reforms and India's Two-Term Prime Minister Passes Away at 92, . "From Crisis to Reform: The Life and Legacy of Manmohan Singh"

 At the age of 92, Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday night at AIIMS, Delhi, from age-related illnesses. He was sent to AIIMS Delhi after experiencing an unexpected loss of consciousness at home. In the meantime, PM Narendra Modi paid a poignant homage to former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Friday, expressing profound sadness over his demise and calling it a significant loss for the country.Two-time prime minister and mastermind of India's economic reforms, Manmohan Singh, passes away at age 92.

People in India have been reminiscing on former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's contributions to the country since his passing on Thursday evening. Singh, who served as Prime Minister for two terms in a succession from 2004 to 2014, was regarded as an architect of India's economic reform, which altered the country's growth trajectory. Singh was the first Sikh to serve as Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru's return to power. He was a soft-spoken technocrat who previously commanded India's central bank, served as finance secretary and minister, and led the opposition in the upper chamber of parliament.

Economic liberalisation

In 1991, Singh was named finance minister by Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao's Congress-led administration. At the time, India's economy was in the throes of a severe financial crisis, and its foreign reserves were at an all-time low—barely enough to cover imports for two weeks. Singh spearheaded the drive to de-regulate the economy in order to prevent its impending collapse. Singh won in spite of fierce resistance from his party and cabinet members. He implemented audacious policies, such as lowering import taxes, depreciating the currency, and privatizing state-owned businesses.

He is renowned for having stated that "no power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come" in his first budget speech to the legislature in 1991. Millions of Indians were lifted out of poverty and helped India become one of the main countries with the fastest rates of growth in the world as a result of Singh's continuing implementation of economic reform policies while serving as prime minister.Prime Minister who is reluctant

In 2004, the Congress party returned to power and unexpectedly defeated the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) administration of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Many members of the departing ruling party questioned Congress chairwoman Sonia Gandhi's Italian birth, despite the fact that she was widely expected to lead the government. Instead of accepting the position, she suggested Singh, who was regarded as a consensus candidate with high personal integrity and little controversy. He assisted his party in gaining a larger mandate in the subsequent legislative election, although detractors frequently referred to him as a "remote-controlled" prime minister run by the Gandhi family.

Singh kept his attention on his work and frequently declined to react on such accusations. Despite initial hesitation at the beginning of his first term as prime minister, he quickly established his dominance in the position. Under Singh's leadership, the nation's GDP grew at a healthy average rate of about 8%, which was the second-fastest among major countries, especially between 2004 and 2009. He increased foreign investment in the nation and made audacious reform measures. He is credited by experts with protecting India from the global financial crisis of 2008. Although his personal integrity was never questioned, accusations of corruption against several of his cabinet colleagues marred his second term in an alliance with a diverse range of parties.

In response to these accusations, he expressed his hope that history would view him differently during his final press conference as prime minister in 2014. "I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition parties in parliament," remarked the politician. "I think taking into account the circumstances and the compulsions of a coalition polity, I have done as best as I could do under the circumstances."

Rights to education, information and identity

Singh made a number of significant choices while serving as prime minister that still have an effect on the state of Indian democracy today. He enacted new legislation that gave residents an unprecedented ability to hold public servants responsible by bolstering and guaranteeing their right to request information from the government. Economists argued that his introduction of a rural employment program that guaranteed a living for at least 100 days had a significant effect on rural earnings and the fight against poverty. Additionally, he introduced legislation that drastically decreased school dropout rates by guaranteeing children aged 6 to 14 the right to free and compulsory education.

In order to enhance financial inclusion and the distribution of welfare benefits to the underprivileged, his government also launched the Aadhar project, which has a distinctive identification. Aadhar remains a key component of many of the initiatives of the current federal government, which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sorry for the anti-Sikh riots To exact revenge for a military operation she had directed against separatists disguised in Amritsar, the holiest temple of Sikhism in northern India, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards in 1984. Her passing set off a chain of violent events that claimed the lives of over 3,000 Sikhs and severely damaged their property.

In a 2005 parliamentary apology, Singh said that the violence was "the negation of the concept of nationhood enshrined in our constitution" and expressed his regret to the country. "I apologize to the Sikh community without hesitation. I apologize to the entire Indian population, not just the Sikh community," he stated. No other prime minister had gone so far as to apologize for the riots in parliament, especially one from the Congress party.

In 2008, Singh reached a historic agreement with the United States to lift India's nuclear isolation following its weapon system tests in 1998. According to his government, the agreement would help India maintain its robust development rate and satisfy its expanding energy needs. A waiver to start civilian nuclear trading with the US and the rest of the world was promised by the agreement, which is considered a turning point in India-US ties. Critics of the agreement, however, fiercely opposed it, claiming that it would jeopardize India's foreign policy independence and sovereignty. The Left Front protested by pulling out of the ruling coalition.

In February of this year, Dr. Singh announced his retirement from the Rajya Sabha, where he represented Rajasthan. Prior to this, he served six terms in the Upper House since 1991, representing Assam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised him profusely on his final day in the Rajya Sabha, referring to him as a "inspirational example." "The manner in which Manmohan Singh led the nation for many years... He would be among the select few distinguished members whose contributions will never be forgotten whenever our democracy is brought up, PM Modi had stated.