Death of Manmohan Singh, former Indian prime minister and country's economic reformer

The economic reforms carried out during his ten years at the head of India transformed the country into a world power. Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh died on Thursday, December 26, at the age of 92, the country's current leader announced. Narenda Modi confirmed the death of the former head of government in a message posted on X, saying that India “mourns the loss of one of its most eminent leaders”.

Manmohan Singh was taken to a hospital in New Delhi after losing consciousness at his home on Thursday, but could not be revived, according to a statement from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

The former prime minister, in office from 2004 to 2014, is credited with overseeing an economic boom in India, Asia's fourth-largest economy, during his first term, although growth slowed in the subsequent years wasted his second term.

Growing 9% per year

Born in 1932 in the village of Gah, in what is now Pakistan, Manmohan Singh studied economics at Cambridge and Oxford. He never held elected office before holding the highest office in the land.

It was in 1991 that the governor of India's central bank was asked to help get the country out of the worst financial crisis in its modern history. During his first term, India's economy grew 9 percent annually, giving the country the international clout it had long sought.

He also sealed a historic nuclear deal with the United States that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs. Known as “Mr. Clean”, Manmohan Singh nevertheless saw his image tarnished during his ten years in power after the disclosure of a series of corruption cases.

Mr. Singh, who claimed that he would be treated better by history than by his contemporaries, had become a vocal critic of Narendra Modi's economic policy, also warning of the risks that growing community tensions posed to the Indian democracy.