Sonia Gandhi, Congress member and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi paid tribute to former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on his birthday in New Delhi on Monday. The occasion was one of many thanks for Singh’s long public service and contribution to India’s political and economic life.
Manmohan Singh, who served as India’s Prime Minister from 2004 to 2014, was also an economist and held numerous positions in public service before becoming Prime Minister. He played a significant role in economic policymaking, especially as Finance Minister in the early 1990s.
The birth anniversary can also allow political leaders and others to recall Singh’s public life. He served two terms as Prime Minister in India: a period when the Indian economy was booming and social programmes, foreign relations, and legislation had been taking shape.
Sonia Gandhi, who was Congress president during much of Singh’s time as Prime Minister, and Rahul Gandhi, who later became a prominent opposition leader, paid tribute to Singh on his birthday anniversary. In 2025, Congress leaders remembered Singh and highlighted his contributions to India’s economic development and public life. A Dr Manmohan Singh Research Centre and Library in New Delhi was also inaugurated with Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Singh’s wife Gursharan Kaur at the centre.
Singh was born on 26 September 1932. He studied economics at the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford and later held various posts in India, including Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Finance Minister of India.
His tenure as Finance Minister is widely associated with the economic reforms made in 1991 when India was experiencing a high balance of payments crisis. Singh presented the Union Budget that year and was part of the government that introduced a series of economic measures that changed the country’s policy framework.
The Singh government was also associated with efforts on rural employment, education, information rights, and social welfare as Prime Minister. His administration also witnessed a great deal of development in India's relationship with major world powers and was involved in the negotiations of the India-US civil nuclear agreement.
Even after leaving the Prime Minister's Office in 2014, Singh continued to be active as a member of the Rajya Sabha. He died in December 2024 at the age of 92. Political leaders from different sides of the political divide paid tribute to Singh in different ways of remembering his life. In 2025, the Prime Minister's Office also paid tribute on Singh's birthday in this respect.
#WATCH | Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi pay tribute to former PM Manmohan Singh on his birth anniversary today.
— ANI (@ANI) September 26, 2026
Visuals from AICC Office at 24 Akbar Road. pic.twitter.com/y8GKeUOW8O
Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi’s tribute comes as Congress continues to honour Singh’s contribution to the organization and the country. He has a long history of economic policymaking, parliamentary service, and a tenure of ten years as Prime Minister.
The birth anniversary in Delhi is based on personal remembrance and reflection on the career of one of India’s most prominent economists and former prime ministers. And as politicians reflect in public on his time in public service, Singh’s role in India’s economic and political history remains a very much debated topic.
