All information about Dr. Manmohan Singh, his life and achievements

“The Underachiever”, splashed on its cover page of TIME magazine with Dr. Manmohan Singh behind it. Being on the highest office is a great task and controlling the nation is the biggest responsibility and regarding this Dr. Manmohan Singh is described as “one of the world’s most revered leaders”. From Reserve Bank Governor to Planning Commission head to Finance Minister to Prime Minister of India, he did it all.  He is a well known economist and the only Prime Minister of India after Jawaharlal Nehru to return after completing full five year tenure.

Born on 26 September 1932, he attended Punjab University and the University of Cambridge and later earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford. He also wrote books like “India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth” which critically remarked on India’s inward-oriented trade policy. He also served as a professor in the Punjab University and Delhi School of Economics. He was then appointed as Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva between 1987 and 1990. In 1971, he joined Government of India as the Economic Adviser and soon followed as the chief Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance.

He even got many prestigious awards like India’s second highest civilian honor, the Padma Vibhushan in 1987, the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year for consecutive 2 years in 1993 and 1994, the Adam Smith Prize of the University of Cambridge in 1956, the Wright’s Prize for Distinguished Performance in 1955. He has also been honored by a number of world class associations and Universities including Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. On 22 May 2004, he took oath as the Prime Minister of India after Congress formed a coalition government to form United Progressive Alliance (UPA). He never won a Lok Sabha seat although, according to the BBC, “he has enjoyed massive popular support, not least because he was seen by many as a clean politician untouched by the taint of corruption that has run through many Indian administrations."

Dr. Manmohan Singh has always been regarded as a man of few words. The Independent described him as "a man of uncommon decency and grace”. One of the most eminent writer Khushwant Singh in his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most things In-between regarded him as the best prime minister India has ever had. He also got a position of 18 on the 2010 Forbes list of the world's most powerful people. He also drew criticism from political oponents like L.K Advani, who claimed that Dr. Singh is a "weak" Prime Minister. Advani declared "He is weak. What do I call a person who can't take his decisions until 10 Janpath gives instructions.” In recent times, his Government has been criticized for having been accused of various corruption scandals including  2G spectrum scam and Indian coal allocation scam.