Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying a wreath on the casket carrying the body of Dr Manmohan Singh.
New Delhi: The home ministry has declared seven days of national mourning on the passing of India’s 13th prime minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, during which all official functions and celebrations will stand cancelled, and the national flag will fly at half-mast across the country and at all Indian missions abroad.
A state funeral with full military honours will be held at the Nigambodh Ghat crematorium in New Delhi at 11.45am on Saturday, the ministry said in its official communication. The defence ministry has been directed to make the necessary arrangements for the funeral.
Singh, who served as India’s prime minister from 2004 to 2014 and was widely credited with transforming the nation’s economy as finance minister in the 1990s, passed away of age-related health issues on Thursday night at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. He was 92.
Singh, an Oxford-trained economist, is remembered as the architect of India’s economic liberalization programme, which he initiated as finance minister in 1991 under the-then prime minister, PV Narasimha Rao. His reforms pulled India back from a severe balance of payments crisis and laid the foundation for the country’s rapid economic growth in subsequent decades.
As prime minister, Singh led two successive coalition governments of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), presiding over a period of robust economic growth and significant social welfare initiatives. His tenure saw the implementation of several landmark programmes, including the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Right to Information Act, and the Right to Education Act.
Known for his gentle demeanour and scholarly approach, Dr Manmohan Singh’s contribution to Indian public life spans over five decades, during which he served in various capacities, including as governor of the Reserve Bank of India and chief economic advisor to the Government of India.
