Manmohan Singh was a visionary economist with integrity: Raghuram Rajan

Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was a brilliant economist with a visionary outlook on India’s potential, combined with a fine sense of political feasibility, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday.

Photograph: Prakash Singh/Reuters

Singh, the architect of India’s economic reforms, passed away here late on Thursday at the age of 92.

Rajan described Singh as understated and soft-spoken, qualities that enabled 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 possible politically… the liberalisation and reforms he undertook with the support of Prime Minister Narasimha Rao laid the foundations of the modern Indian 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 persons with his experience and achievements would hold forth their views. Instead, Dr. Singh heard others out and then tried to make use of what they conveyed, including criticism.

“And he was a man of great integrity, never using any of his offices for personal gain,” Rajan noted.

As RBI Governor, Rajan said he had regular meetings with the then prime minister.

“He was a great sounding board, but despite his prior experience as governor, he never sought to interfere. He had given me the job, and he would not 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 RBI tenure.

Singh served as prime minister for two terms from 2004 to 2014.