Manmohan Singh: Former Indian Prime Minister dies aged 92

Economist turned national leader pulled his country back from financial crisis through a programme of liberalisation

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  India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) pays last respect to his late predecessor Manmohan Singh during the state funeral ceremony in New Delhi. A state funeral with full military honours, complete with a gun salute. AFP

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  Bhutan's King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck (C) pays last respect to India's late former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during the state funeral ceremony in New Delhi. India on December 28, accorded former premier Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country's economic liberalisation in the early 1990s, a state funeral with full military honours, complete with a gun salute. AFP

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  Indian National Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, left, and chairwoman Sonia Gandhi place a flag on the casket of Mr Singh at their party headquarters in New Delhi. AP Photo

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  Opposition and senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi pays his respects to Mr Singh. EPA

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  Mr Singh's coffin is carried during his funeral procession in New Delhi. Reuters

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  The funeral procession passes India Gate war memorial in New Delhi. Reuters

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  Mr Singh's widow Gursharan Kaur, right, sits by his casket at Congress party headquarters in New Delhi. AP Photo

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  Mr Singh at a Congress Party rally in Udaipur, in the north-eastern state of Tripura, in 2008. AFP

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  Mr Singh served as India's 13th prime minister from 2004 until 2014. AP

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  Mr Singh with Saudi Arabia's late King Abdullah, in New Delhi, in 2006. Bloomberg

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  Mr Singh with then US president George W Bush in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, in 2008. AFP

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  Mr Singh with then US president Barack Obama before a bilateral meeting in Bali, in 2011. Reuters

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  Mr Singh with China's President Xi Jinping before a meeting in Beijing, in 2013. Getty Images

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  Mr Singh and Pakistan's then prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani ahead of the World Cup cricket semi-final between India and Pakistan in Mohali, northern India, in 2011. Reuters

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  Mr Singh with Mr Modi in the western city of Ahmedabad in 2013, when Mr Modi was Gujarat's chief minister and prime ministerial candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Reuters

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  Afghanistan's then president Hamid Karzai with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Singh in New Delhi, in 2012. Reuters

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  Mr Singh with Canada's then prime minister Stephen Harper at the G20 Summit in Toronto, in 2010. AFP

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  Mr Singh with then UK prime minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street in London, in 2004. AFP

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  Mr Singh with former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger in New Delhi, in 2004. AFP

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  Mr Singh with Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari, during Mr Zardari's previous term in office, in New York, in 2008.

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  Mr Singh with Pakistan's then prime minister Nawaz Sharif at the UN General Assembly in New York, in 2013. Reuters

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  Mr Singh with China's then prime minister Li Keqiang in New Delhi, in 2013.

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  Mr Singh with South Africa's then president Jacob Zuma before the official opening of the fifth Brics summit in Durban, in 2013.

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  Mr Singh meets then US secretary of state Hillary Clinton in New Delhi, in 2012.

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  Rahul Gandhi, at the time president of the Indian National Congress Party, right, and Ms Gandhi, left, speak with Mr Singh during the Hindu festival of Dussehra, in New Delhi, 2018. AFP

Former Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh, whose policy of liberalisation launched his country on the path to becoming a global economic power, died on Thursday at the age of 92 in a hospital in Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who succeeded Mr Singh in 2014, led the tributes for the late leader. "India mourns the loss of one of its most distinguished leaders, Dr Manmohan Singh Ji," Mr Modi wrote on X, using a term of respect.

"Rising from humble origins, he rose to become a respected economist. He served in various government positions as well, including as finance minister, leaving a strong imprint on our economic policy over the years. As our prime minister, he made extensive efforts to improve people’s lives."

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences said Mr Singh was admitted to the hospital on Thursday evening after losing consciousness at his home and died about two hours later, at 9.51pm.

India's finance minister from 1991 to 1996, Mr Singh served two terms as prime minister from 2004 to 2014. He is credited with having overseen an economic boom in Asia's fourth-largest economy in his first term, although slowing growth in later years marred his second stint.

Born in 1932 in the mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan, he studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast nation and had never held elected office before he became prime minister.

He won scholarships to attend Cambridge, where he obtained a first in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his PhD.

Mr Singh held a number of senior civil posts, served as a central bank governor and also worked in global agencies such as the UN.

He was appointed in 1991 by then prime minister PV Narasimha Rao of the Congress party to pull India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history

In his first term, Mr Singh steered the economy through a period of 9 per cent growth, lending the country the international influence it had long sought. His government shared the country's newfound wealth through welfare schemes such as a jobs programme for the rural poor.

He also sealed a landmark nuclear deal with the US that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.

His efforts to further open up the economy were frequently frustrated by political wrangling in his own party and demands made by coalition partners.

Known for his simple lifestyle and with a reputation for honesty, Mr Singh was not personally regarded as corrupt. But he came under attack for failing to crack down on members of his government as a series of scandals erupted in his second term, leading to mass protests.

He announced his intention to retire after the 2014 general election, with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's son Rahul set to take his place if the party won.

But Congress crashed to its worst-ever result at that time as Mr Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party won a landslide.

With reporting from agencies.