The final rites of the former Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, were held on 28th December 2024, with full state honors. The nation grieves for the loss of an exceptional leader and, the government has declared a seven-day mourning. The statesman played a pivotal role in driving the modern India's transformation. The leader has been the silent force in establishing crucial global partnerships and domestic reforms. The politician secured the top position for two challenging tenures, guiding the country to stability and security. Among his various contributions to the nation, owing to his dynamic career trajectory, the ones with the most substantial impact included the strategic partnership with the US, the bilateral ties with Russia, and the array of economic reforms.
Dr. Singh laid the cornerstone of the strategic partnership between the US and India. The Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement was signed under the leadership of President Bush and Prime Minister Singh in July 2005. The agreement, which has lasted three decades, upholds three objectives- to remove core differences that impeded the strategic relationship, to support India’s economic growth and energy security in an environmentally sound way, and to strengthen the global nonproliferation regime.
The deal facilitated a waiver to India to commence civilian nuclear trade with the US and the rest of the world, paving the way for India, to the Nuclear Suppliers Group. Deriving from the deal parameters, India committed all of its civilian nuclear facilities to IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) safeguards. The deal empowers India to continue its voluntary moratorium on nuclear testing while making sure that India adheres to international nuclear and missile export guidelines and ensures that all civil nuclear trade will be used only for peaceful purposes.
The agreement evoked fears about the denial of the international nonproliferation regime. Thus, the deal has been dramatically transformed across myriad dimensions, including diplomatic engagement, defense cooperation, and high-technology collaboration. However, in 2023, Washington proposed to revive nuclear trade with New Delhi, one of the criteria of the meeting of President Biden and Prime Minister Modi. The further proceeds in this regard are stuck on both ends. For India, the nuclear liability law—the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Act (CLNDA), is concerning the expansion of foreign participation in the country’s nuclear energy program. On the part of the US, the alignment of the Indian nuclear weapons program with the US grand strategy is hindering the achievement of the full potential of the strategic agreement. The countries need to work around the complications to achieve the full potential of the agreement.
Apart from the agreement with the US, the technocrat additionally facilitated the strengthening of the bilateral ties between Russia and India. In October 2023, Singh paid an official visit to the Russian Federation. During the meeting, the President and the Prime Minister discussed continuing the momentum of high-level bilateral contracts on the priority areas and noted common positions on international and regional issues. The sides welcomed the economic cooperation and the promotion of trade and investment ties, energy cooperation, cooperation in science and technology, education sector cooperation, cultural cooperation, inter-regional cooperation, cooperation on exploration of outer space, military and technical cooperation, coordination on international and regional issues, combating terrorism, international information security, cooperation in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, enhancing security cooperation in Asia and the Asia Pacific, cooperation among BRICS countries, multilateral economic cooperation and financial reforms, environment and sustainable development, among others.
The political diplomat and the scholarly economist rescues India from the brink of economic collapse, driving the economy on the path of liberalization and growth. During his services as RBI Governor, Finance Secretary, Finance Minister, and then Prime Minister, Singh made some crucial decisions that transformed the Indian economy, from an insular, control-heavy, low-growth economy to the fastest-growing major economy. During his appointment as the finance minister, the foreign exchange reserves dropped to INR 2,500 crore, barely sufficient to cover 2 weeks of imports, global banks were refusing to offer loans, forex outflows were large, and inflation was soaring into double digits. Thus, to revive the economy, Singh implemented a series of sweeping reforms, including the abolition of License Raj (Permit Raj), encouraging FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), devaluation of the rupee, disinvestment and public sector reforms, trade liberalization, and fiscal consolidation.
Thus, the period from 2004 to 2014, witnessed a rise in India on the global front. The country entered into partnerships with major economies, ascertaining a long-term significant position in the balance of power scenario in the Asia-Pacific region. Additionally, the period marked an exceptional resistance to the 2008 global economic crises, and a rapid boost in GDP. It was attributed to the bold economic reforms, such as the abolition of the license raj. Therefore, it would not be wrong to say that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, laid the foundation of modern India, by proactively countering the challenges facing national integrity and growth.