Essays

India's 13^th prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh is acclaimed as a thinker and a scholar. He is well regarded for his diligence and his academic approach to work, as well as his accessibility and his unassuming conduct. He has been in academics and a civil servant.

Manmohan Singh was born on 26 September 1932, in village Gah in the Punjab province of undivided India. He completed his matriculation examination from Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from I 'Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned II first class honours degree in Economics in 1957. He followed this with a D. Phil in Economics from Oxford University in 1962. His book, India's Export Trends and prospects for Self-sustained Growth (Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1964) was an early critique of India's inward- oriented trade policy.

Dr Singh's academic credentials were burnished by the years he spent on the faculty of Punjab University and the prestigious Delhi School of Economics of the University of Delhi. He had a brief stint at the UNCTAD secretariat as well, during these years. This presaged a subsequent appointment as Secretary General of the South Commission in Geneva between 1987 and 1990.

In 1971, Dr Singh joined the Government of India as economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many Governmental positions that Dr Singh has occupied are Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Governor of Reserve Bank of India, Advisor of the Prime Minister and Chairman of the university Grants Commission

In what was to become the turning point in the economic history of independent India, Dr Singh spent five year between 1991 and 1996 as India's Finance Minister. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms in now recognized worldwide. In the popular view of those years in India, that period is inextricably associated with the persona of Dr Singh.

Among the many awards and honours conferred upon Dr Singh in his public career, the most prominent are India's second highest civil inn honour, the Padma Vibhushan (1987); the Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Award of the Indian Science Congress (1995); the Asia Money Award for Finance Minister of the Year (1993); the Adam Smith prize of the University of Cambridge (1956); and the "Weight's Prize for distinguished performance at St John's college in Cambridge | (1955). Dr Singh has also been honoured by a number of other j associations including the Japanese Nihon Keizal Shimbun Dr Singh has represented India at many international conferences and in several international organizations. He has led Indian delegations to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Cyprus (1993) and to the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993.

In his political career, Dr Singh has been a member of India's Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) since 1991, where he was Leader of the Opposition between 1998 and 2004. He is reportedly a workaholic and is a person with a vision. His style of functioning makes it clear that he means business. He has a 12-hour working day. He is the first Sikh of the country to become prime minister. He has qualities of the head and the heart that establish instant rapport with those that meet him. Academically he is so qualified and experienced that his rich background is going to stund him in good stead.

He married Gurshran karu on 14 September 1958. They have three daughters. Dr. Singh stands tall and can be called the 'gentleman in white for he is always dressed in white. His turban is of light blue that goes well with his bright complexion. There is a benign smile on his face. He is soft-spoken, full   of modesty and informality—which attributes have endeared him to one and all.

A patriot to the hilt, he has the well-being of Indians uppermost in his mind. He is of the firm belief that Indians deserve. Good governance. The country is indeed lucky in having him as the new prime minister—who is certain to bring about good fortunes for the country and bounty to its people in the near future.