Indian economist and politician, who became prime minister of India in 2004. A Sikh, he was the first non-Hindu to occupy the office.
Singh attended Punjab University and the University of Cambridge in Great Britain. He later earned a doctorate in economics from the University of Oxford. In the 1970s he was named to a series of economic advisory posts with the Indian government and became a frequent consultant to prime ministers. Singh also worked at the Reserve Bank of India, serving as director (1976–80) and governor (1982–85). When he was named finance minister in 1991, the country was on the verge of an economic collapse. Singh devalued the rupee, lowered taxes, privatized state-run industries, and encouraged foreign investment, reforms that helped transform the country's economy and spark an economic boom. A member of the Indian National Congress, he joined the Rajya Sabha (upper house of Parliament) in 1991. Singh, who served as finance minister until 1996, ran for the Lok Sabha (lower house) in 1999 but was defeated.
Congress won the May 2004 parliamentary elections, defeating the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress's leader, Sonia Gandhi (widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi), declined the prime ministership, instead recommending Singh for the post. Singh subsequently formed a government and took office. His stated goals included helping improve conditions for India's poor (who generally had not benefited from the country's economic growth), securing peace with neighbouring Pakistan, and improving relations among India's various religious groups.
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