NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a brilliant economist with a visionary outlook on India’s potential, combined with a fine sense of political viability, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday. Singh, the architect of India economic reformsHe passed away here Thursday night at the age of 92.
Rajan described Singh as low-key and soft-spoken, qualities that allowed him to attract some of the brightest minds to his team, including Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Rangarajan and Rakesh Mohan.
“He was a brilliant economist with a great vision of what India could be, combined with a fine sense of what was politically possible… the liberalization and reforms he undertook with the support of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao laid the foundations of the modern India. economy,” he told PTI.
Rajan, the 23rd governor of the Reserve Bank of India between September 2013 and September 2016, recalled that Singh was always curious.
“Most people with his experience and accomplishments would put forward their views. Instead, Dr. Singh listened to others and then tried to make use of what they conveyed, including criticism.
“And he was a man of great integrity, who never used any of his positions for personal gain,” Rajan said.
As RBI governor, Rajan said he held regular meetings with then Prime Minister Singh.
“He was a great sounding board, but despite his previous experience as governor, he never tried to interfere. He had given me the job and wouldn’t tell me how to do it unless I asked for advice,” he said.
According to Rajan, his meetings with Singh were some of the most enjoyable moments of his tenure as RBI.
Singh served as prime minister for two terms, from 2004 to 2014.
