- By Shivam Shandilya
- Thu, 26 Dec 2024 10:58 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India’s Former PM Manmohan Singh Passes Away: Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away at Delhi’s AIIMS on Thursday evening. Singh, the 13th Prime Minister of India, had served as India’s finance minister between 1991 and 1996. While he is more famous as Prime Minister, his decisions as the finance minister are invaluable and will be remembered forever.
As finance minister, he took the Indian economy towards liberalisation by ending the licensee raj, thereby opening all the sectors barring those related to national security.He persuaded RBI to mortgage gold with the Bank of England, which helped India to get necessary financial assistance. Under his leadership, India took an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that helped India prevent a debt default.
In his tenure, the government announced key tax concessions for the services sector. He also encouraged entrepreneurship and invited foreign investment for industrialisation.
Singh also got the trade policy reworked and abolished the export subsidies. Under his leadership as finance minister, the government announced tax concessions for the services sector.
PM Singh’s role as prime minister also solidified India's role as a prominent player in the global economy, with reforms that helped the country navigate a rapid phase of growth. During his tenure as Prime Minister, the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005 to deal with rural distress and perk up income. Indirect tax reforms were introduced by ushering in the value added tax, replacing sales tax.
Besides, a Rs 76,000 crore farm debt waiver and debt relief scheme was implemented across the country which benefited crores of farmers. He also steered the nation during the 2008 global financial meltdown and announced a huge stimulus package to deal with the situation.
Aadhaar was introduced through the Unique Identification Authority of India during his tenure as prime minister for targetted subsidy transfer. Direct Benefit Transfers for many schemes were announced under his leadership. He also promoted financial inclusion in a big way and many bank branches were opened during his tenure as the Prime Minister. Other reforms like the Right to Food and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act were enacted during his regime.
Singh was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, in 1987, recognising his contributions to economic policymaking. According to some political commentators, despite facing flak over corruption scandals like the 2G spectrum allocation scam and the Commonwealth Games controversy, Dr. Singh's tenure remained a defining period in Indian political history.
Singh, 92, was brought to the emergency department this evening in a critical condition after "sudden loss of consciousness", AIIMS Delhi said. Despite all efforts, he could not be revived and was declared dead at 9.51 pm, it stated in a statement.