NEW DELHI: Former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao was instrumental in bringing Dr Manmohan Singh, one of the finest economic experts in the country, into politics. India was facing a severe economic crisis when Narasimha Rao, the then Prime Minister, appointed Manmohan Singh, a renowned economist with no prior experience in politics, as the Finance Minister. In the years that followed, Singh made decisions that reshaped the country's economic policies, overcoming strong opposition and successfully implementing his plans.

He is often described as the Finance Minister who revolutionized the Indian economy. The economic liberalization policies he implemented garnered global attention. While the policies successfully helped the country overcome the economic crisis, the Congress Party faced defeat in the subsequent Lok Sabha elections. The international reputation earned by Singh did not help the Congress party in the elections.

Manmohan Singh began his career as a teacher. After completing his education abroad, he returned to India and started his official career as a lecturer in the Department of Economics at Punjab University. After teaching from 1957 to 1965, he worked with the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development.

He returned to India as an advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Trade. In 1972, he became the Chief Economic Advisor to the Government of India and was appointed Finance Secretary in 1976. From 1980 to 1982, he served as a member of the Planning Commission. In 1982, during the tenure of then-Finance Minister Pranab Kumar Mukherjee, Manmohan Singh was appointed as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.