Manmohan Singh[a] (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian politician, economist, nationalist[1] and statesman[2] who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Singh held several key posts in the Government of India, such as Chief Economic Advisor (1972–1976), governor of the Reserve Bank (1982–1985) and head of the Planning Commission (1985–1987).

Although these measures proved successful in averting the crisis, and enhanced Singh's reputation globally as a leading reform-minded economist, the incumbent Congress Party fared poorly in the 1996 general election.

Subsequently, Singh was leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Parliament of India) during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government of 1998–2004.

In 2004, when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance came to power, its chairperson Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly relinquished the prime ministership to Singh.

In 2008, opposition to a historic civil nuclear agreement with the United States nearly caused Singh's government to fall after Left Front parties withdrew their support.

[21] On 17 April 1937, he was enrolled in the local Government Primary School, where he continued his Urdu-medium education until the age of 10 (Class 4), after which he and his family moved to Peshawar.

[19][24] He attended Panjab University, then in Hoshiarpur,[25][26][27] Punjab, studying Economics and got his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1952 and 1954, respectively, standing first throughout his academic career.

[28] In a 2005 interview with the British journalist Mark Tully, Singh said about his Cambridge days: I first became conscious of the creative role of politics in shaping human affairs, and I owe that mostly to my teachers Joan Robinson and Nicholas Kaldor.

She propounded the left wing interpretation of Keynes, maintaining that the state has to play more of a role if you really want to combine development with social equity.

[28] In 1980–1982 he was at the Planning Commission, and in 1982, he was appointed governor of the Reserve Bank of India under then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and held the post until 1985.

Singh told Mark Tully, a British journalist, in 2005: On the day (Rao) was formulating his cabinet, he sent his Principal Secretary to me saying, "The PM would like you to become the Minister of Finance".

They removed many obstacles standing in the way of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and initiated the process of the privatisation of public sector companies.

[40] In 1993, Singh offered his resignation from the post of Finance Minister after a parliamentary investigation report criticised his ministry for not being able to anticipate a US$1.8 billion 1992 securities scandal.

In a surprise move, Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declared Manmohan Singh, a technocrat, as the UPA candidate for the prime ministership.

[46][47] In 1991, Singh, as Finance Minister, abolished the Licence Raj, source of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades.

During his term as prime minister, Singh continued to encourage growth in the Indian market, enjoying widespread success in these matters.

The program includes the introduction and improvement of mid-day meals and the opening of schools all over India, especially in rural areas, to fight illiteracy.

[78] 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 defence.

[87] During the Libyan Civil War, India abstained from voting on the UN Security Council's Resolutions 1970 and 1973 that authorised NATO action in Libya.

[95] Strong showing in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) form the new government under the incumbent Singh, who became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after completing a full five-year term.

[116] The Independent described Singh as "one of the world's most revered leaders" and "a man of uncommon decency and grace", noting that he drives a Maruti 800, one of the humblest cars in the Indian market.

He mentions an incident in his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most things In-between where after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Singh immediately returned the ₹2 lakh (US$2,300) he had borrowed from the writer for hiring taxis.

Henry Kissinger described Singh as "a statesman with vision, persistence and integrity", and praised him for his "leadership, which has been instrumental in the economic transformation underway in India.

[134] In 2022, Union Transport Minister of Modi Government, Nitin Gadkari said the "country is indebted to Manmohan Singh for the liberalisation that gave a new direction".

[137] Following his death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Singh one of "India's most distinguished leaders" and declared national mourning.

[145] Singh's son-in-law, Ashok Pattnaik, a 1983 batch Indian Police Service officer, was appointed CEO of National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) in 2016.

[156][138][157] The government subsequently announced a period of national mourning until 1 January 2025[158][159] and accorded Singh a state funeral at his cremation at Nigam Bodh Ghat, New Delhi on 28 December.

[5] A Bollywood film was made in 2019 based on Singh's life, titled The Accidental Prime Minister directed by Vijay Gutte and written by Mayank Tewari with Anupam Kher in the titular role.

'Prime Minister'), a 2013 Indian documentary television series which aired on ABP News and covers the various policies and political tenures of Indian PMs, includes the tenure of Manmohan Singh in the episodes "Story of Sonia Gandhi and UPA-I Government", and "Scams in UPA government and anti-corruption movement".