Manmohan Singh's Pivotal Role In Shaping India's Economic Landscape

He served as India's finance minister from 1991 to 1996, a period considered a turning point in his career as well as for the Indian economy. During the worst economic crisis faced by India in 1991, Singh introduced India to liberalisation, privatisation, and globalisation policy. He presented the Union Budget in 1991-92 under the Narsimha Rao government.

In 1991, the government, along with the RBI, carried out a two-phase devaluation of the rupee. On July 1, the rupee was devalued by approximately 9% against major currencies, followed by an additional 11% devaluation two days later. The major goal of these actions was to enhance the competitiveness of Indian exports.

During Singh's tenure as prime minister, India experienced remarkable economic growth and achieved a robust growth rate in the gross domestic product. The average GDP growth during 2004–2014 was around 15%. The average household final consumption expenditure as a percentage of the GDP was 10.56% from 2004 to 2014 and remained nearly the same at 10.61% during the period from 2014 to 2020.

The Indian economy between 2004 and 2014, evolved into a $2 trillion economy. The gross domestic product grew at an annual average of 7-8%.

The Manmohan Singh-led government also introduced many social welfare schemes, including the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, which ensured 100 days of employment to rural households.