A Tribute to the Architect of Modern Indian Economy

"No power on earth can stop an idea whose time has come" said Dr.Manmohan Singh quoting the French poet and author Victor Hugo in his maiden iconic budget speech of 1991.

Not many, at that time believed, that this would be the turning point for the then faltering Indian Economy. With an abysmally low Foreign Exchange Reserve of less than 1.2B US$, It was a time, when we were within two weeks of stopping most, if not all, of the transport including essential services due to our inability in paying for oil imports.

As Dr.Baba Saheb Ambedkar is known as the Architect of Indian Constitution, so is Dr.Manmohan Singh ,the Architect of Modern Indian Economy. It was a call for Action during one of India's most challenging times, with the world having such low belief in us that gold was the only instrument we could pledge or sell for importing even the essentials.

His speech was inspiring, emphasised hope, called for collective responsibility, and the necessity of reforms to secure the nation's future.?"I do not minimise the difficulties that lie ahead." said he "Yet I do believe that this country has the wisdom, resources, and ability to overcome the crisis." reciting a line from Hum Honge Kamyab, reassuring the nation about the potential for economic recovery and growth.

Under the able leadership and support of the then Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, Dr.Singh followed up on his words and implemented bold and path-breaking reforms that reshaped India's economic landscape in Liberalising of the Economy (referred to as ending the "License Raj"), Privatisation, Globalisation, Fiscal Reforms, Financial Sector Reforms, Balance of Payments Crisis Management and Economic Growth Revival.

While much has been talked and written about Dr.Singh's contributions as the Finance Minister, his ten year tenure as the Prime Minister between 2004-2014 was a no mean achievement. Under his Leadership, India's GDP grew at an average of 8%. as one of the fastest growing economies, second only to China. While forging ahead several policy decisions like the Right to Education Act, MNERGA, Rural Electrification, Modernising India’s road infrastructure and the Food Security Bill within the country, Dr.Singh was also forefront in International Diplomacy. He played a pivotal role in the formation of BRICS.

Would like to cite one example that highlighted Dr.Singh's strategic diplomacy and pragmatism while handling International Trade.

During Dr. Singh's tenure, India's aviation industry was expanding rapidly due to growing air travel demand. This required significant investments in upgrading the fleet and procurement of Aircraft for the then state-run Air India and Indian Airlines (which later merged and subsequently privatised) thereby creating an opportunity for both Boeing (American) and Airbus (European).

Dr. Singh emphasised transparency and fair competition between these companies. So as to give a level playing field, both were invited to bid for India's aircraft requirements, ensuring that the government secured the best deal in terms of pricing, technology and financing.

The government approved Air India's purchase of 68 Boeing aircraft worth $11 billion in 2005, marking one of the largest deals in the airline's history.

Dr. Singh leveraged this deal to strengthen Indo-US relations, particularly in the context of the India-US Civil Nuclear Deal being negotiated at the same time. This bi-lateral Agreement allowed India access to nuclear technology and fuel for civilian use despite being a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

To maintain balance, Dr. Singh oversaw Indian Airlines' purchase with Airbus for 43 aircraft worth approximately $2.2 billion. This reinforced India's strong ties with the European Union, ensuring that relationships with both major economic blocs were nurtured.

Such was the importance of this deal, that the Heads of States: POTUS & EU Leaders personally flew down to India while the contracts were being signed.

In both negotiations Dr. Singh ensured that offset agreements were included, requiring Boeing and Airbus to reinvest a portion of the deal's value back into India through local sourcing, joint ventures and or technology transfer. While Boeing committed to significant investments in India, including setting up of a maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility; Airbus agreed to set up a Global Capability Centre here. Both of which, created jobs and technology transfer. I have been a personal beneficiary of this, joining as the Operations Head at Goodrich Aerospace (Now Collins) during the time

It will be gross injustice and a futile attempt, trying to capture Dr.Manmohan Singh's contribution to the Indian Economy in general, and the impact he has had on me in particular within these simple paragraphs. The current generation is certainly benefitting and the Future generations will to.

Hum Khamyab ho rahe hein Singh Ji. We are arriving.