Manmohan Singh’s death draws tributes from political and industry leaders

Former Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh takes place on Tuesday at the age of 92 has drawn an outpouring of condolences and tributes from political leaders on both sides of the aisle and industry titans.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Singh one of India’s “most outstanding leaders” post on X. Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party defeated Singh’s Congress alliance in the 2014 elections and has been in power ever since.

Singh was a “respected economist”, Modi added, who left a “strong mark” on India’s economic policy.

Before becoming Prime Minister in 2004, Singh served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India in 1982 and Finance Minister in 1991.

As finance minister, he oversaw a series of reforms that deregulated India’s economy and opened the country to foreign investment.

Faced with an acute balance of payments crisis, the then Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao and Singh liberalized the economy, paving the way for its rapid expansion in the following decades.

“History will forever honor his pivotal role in the transformative reforms of 1991 that transformed India and opened its doors to the world,” wrote Gautam Adani, India’s second richest man and chairman of the Indian conglomerate Adani Group.

Singh returned to politics in 2004 when a Congress-led coalition won the election and party leader Sonia Gandhi appointed him as prime minister.

During his tenure between 2004 and 2014, India’s gross domestic product initially expanded rapidly, allowing Singh to channel the new wealth into programs such as National Law on Employment Guarantees in Rural Areaswhich guaranteed work for the poor.

However, Singh’s final years as prime minister were marred by sclerotic growth, the suspension of reforms, and corruption allegations against some members of the government.

Singh played a key role in strengthening India’s ties with Washington, visited the USA several times as Prime Minister. In 2006, when US President George W. Bush visited India, Singh managed to conclude a deal which gave India access to American nuclear technology.

“Dr. Singh was one of the greatest advocates of the US-India strategic partnership, and his work laid the foundation for much of what our countries have achieved together over the past two decades.” wrote US State Department on Singh’s death.

Apart from the US, Singh also strengthened India’s ties with Russia. He has been a regular participant in the annual India-Russia summit, which began in 2000 and aims to deepen cooperation between the two countries and the BRIC countries.

Ambassador of Russia to India Denis Alipov said on X that “Dr. Manmohan Singh’s contribution to our bilateral ties has been immeasurable.”