Sabha may refer to:

in Libya:

• Sabha, Libya, city in Sabha District, Libya
  • Sabha Air Base, Libyan Air Force in Sabha
  • Sabha Airport, an airport in Sabha
  • Sabha University, a university in Sabha
  • Battle of Sabha, a battle in Sabha during the 2011 Libyan civil war
• Sabha Governorate, former governorate of Libya
• Sabha District, one of the districts of Libya

in India:

• Sabhā, Parliament of India

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Robert Vadra
Born	Robert Vadra
Nationality	India
Occupation	Businessperson

Robert Vadra is an Indian businessman notable as the husband of Priyanka Vadra and also a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family by marriage. He was born to Rajinder and Maureen Vadra on 18 April 1969. Rajinder Vadra hails from Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh and Maureen was of Scottish origin (maiden name: McDonagh).^[1]

Family[link]

His brother Richard Vadra was found dead in September 2003 at his Vasant Vihar residence, and his sister Michelle died in a car accident in 2001. His father Rajinder Vadra committed suicide^[2][3] on 2 April 2009.

Controversies[link]

Vadra has been exempted from frisking at airports when travelling with 'other SPG protectees^[4] presumably his wife or other family members. The list of such VIPs was compiled and forwarded to the concerned authorities by the Government of India on 26 September 2005. Others on the list include the President, the Prime Minister, former Presidents and PMs and SPG protectees.^[5][6] This move has come under scrutiny since more important entities on the warrant of precedence. BCAS Commissioner S. R. Mehra declined comment.^[7]

His bodyguard was prevented from carrying a pistol into Parliament.^[8]

Robert Vadra publicly disowned his father Rajendra Vadra following claims of misuse of Robert's proximity to the Gandhi clan.

Subramanian Swamy, an Indian politician claimed through his tweet that Vadra has migrated to Dubai and settled in a Rs. 50 Crore mansion.^[9]

Businesses[link]

• He owns, Artex, a small company specialising in jewellery and handicraft exports.
• His companies have received unsecured loans from DLF Limited, India's largest real estate conglomerate.^[10]
• Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd (owned by Vadra and his mother Maureen Vadra), is a partner in a firm that owns Hilton Garden Inn in the South Delhi business district Saket. As on March 2009, Sky Light Hospitality had received unsecured loans amounting to 25 crore from DLF Ltd.
• Blue Breeze Trading Pvt Ltd (aircraft chartering)
• North India IT Parks Pvt Ltd
• Real Earth Estates Pvt Ltd
• Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd.
• India Today weekly has reported that he has a partnership and wide-ranging transactions with the country's biggest realty firm, DLF Limited.^[11]

Politics[link]

Robert Vadra has said that he will join politics at the "right time for the right cause" with the consent of his family and that his wife Priyanka Gandhi should also enter public life.

In an interview to Zee news, Vadra said just as in his case he would not be pushed, Priyanka's entry into politics will be decided according to the need to do so at a particular point in time.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sonpath, Rediff India
• The Rediff Interview with Rajinder Vadra, Rediff United States
• Don't know if I'll join politics, but I can win from anywhere, The Times of India, Oct 20, 2010.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

Arun Jaitley
Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha)
Personal details
Born	(1952-12-28) 28 December 1952 (age 59) New Delhi
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	New Delhi
Alma mater	University of Delhi
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India
Religion	Hindu
Signature	Arun Jaitley's signature

Arun Jaitley (Hindi:अरुण जेटली ) (born 28 December 1952) is a prominent Indian politician and a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is currently the largest Opposition party in India. He is the leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and has previously served as the Union Minister for commerce, industry, law and justice of the Government of India.

Background[link]

He was born to Kishen and Ratan Prabha Jaitley.^[1] Born to a lawyer father,^[2] he did his schooling at St. Xavier's School, New Delhi from 1969-70.^{[citation needed]} He graduated in Commerce from Shri Ram College of Commerce, New Delhi in 1973. He passed his Law degree from the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, in 1977. During his career as a student, he was the recipient of several distinctions for his outstanding performances both in academics and extra curricular activities. He was President of the Students Union of Delhi University in 1974.^[3]

Political career as student union leader[link]

Jaitley was an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) student leader in the Delhi University Campus in the seventies and rose to be President of the University Students' Union in 1974. During the period of proclamation of Internal Emergency (1975–77) when civil liberties were suspended, he was under preventive detention for a period of 19 months. He was a prominent leader of a movement against corruption launched in the year 1973 by Raj Narain and Jai Prakash Narayan. He was the Convenor of the National Committee for Students and Youth organisation appointed by Jai Prakash Narayan. He was also active in civil rights movement and helped found PUCL Bulletin along with Satish Jha and Smitu Kothari.^[2][3] After being released from jail he joined Jan Sangh.

Legal career[link]

He has been practicing law before the Supreme Court of India and several High Courts in the country since 1977.^[4] He is a designated Senior Advocate. He was appointed Additional Solicitor General by the V.P. Singh Government in 1989 and did the paperwork for the investigations into the Bofors scandal.^[2] His clients cover the political spectrum from Sharad Yadav of the Janata Dal to Madhavrao Scindia of the Indian National Congress to L.K. Advani of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He has authored several publications on legal and current affairs. He has presented a Paper on Law relating to Corruption and Crime in India before the Indo-British Legal Forum. He was a delegate on behalf of the Government of India to the United Nations General Assembly Session in June 1998 where the Declaration on Law relating to Drugs and Money Laundering was approved.

Political career[link]

Arun Jaitley had been the member of the ABVP, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) during his student days. He became the spokesman of the BJP during the period preceding the 1999 general election. After the Vajpayee Government came to power under the umbrella of the National Democratic Alliance, he was appointed Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting (Independent Charge) on October 13, 1999. He was also appointed Minister of State for Disinvestment (Independent Charge), a new Ministry created for the first time to give effect to the policy of disinvestments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regime. He took over the additional charge of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on July 23, 2000 following the resignation of Ram Jethmalani as the Union Cabinet Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs. He was elevated as a Cabinet Minister in November 2000 and was made simultaneously the Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs and Shipping. He was the first Minister of Shipping following the bifurcation of the Ministry of Surface Transport. He demitted the office of the Minister for Shipping with effect from September 1, 2001 and as Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs on July 1, 2002 to join as a Secretary General, BJP and its national spokesman.^[4] He worked in this capacity till January 2003. He rejoined the Union Cabinet as the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice on 29 January 2003. With the defeat of the National Democratic Alliance in May 2004, Jaitley returned to serving the BJP as a General Secretary, and back to his legal career.

He is currently a Rajya Sabha member from Gujarat (as of March 2006) and has never contested any election. He was chosen as the Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha on June 3, 2009 by L.K. Advani. On June 16, 2009 he resigned from the post of General Secretary of BJP as per his party's One Man One Post principle.

In his capacity as the leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha- he has been credited for his excellent oratory which is matched equally by his intense research into the topic and his ability to succinctly convey the message without being shrill.

Personal income[link]

In a news item on income of Rajya Sabha MPs, Times of India reported that Arun Jaitely's income is Rs. 10 Crore (about US$ 2.15 million) per annum.^[5]

The BJP leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has disclosed movable and immovable properties worth Rs 158 crore.^[6]

US cable controversy[link]

It was alleged that Jaitley had suggested that the use of right-wing Hindu nationalism was opportunistic and was being done as it was in 'currency' in certain parts of India.^[7]

Jaitley and his party BJP vehemently denied it.

Notable achievements[link]

Legal[link]

He represented the Birla family in their legal battle against R. S. Lodha on the question of ownership of Birla Corporation Limited, the property worth Rs. 5000 Cr and above.

He has represented Ram Gopal Verma in a case against the film-maker who had a distorted version of the National Anthem in his film Rann. He later dropped the song from the film.

84th Amendment[link]

He successfully introduced the eighty-fourth amendment to the Constitution of India in 2002 freezing parliamentary seats until 2026.^[8]

91st Amendment[link]

He successfully introduced the ninety-first amendment to the Constitution of India in 2004 penalising defections.^[9]

Role as strategic planner of BJP[link]

Recently, Arun Jaitley had emerged as strategic planner for his track record of managing a number of victories in state Assembly election for the BJP.

Arun Jaitley as General Secretary has managed 8 Assembly elections as of May 2008. Most recently, he oversaw the BJP's success in the state of Karnataka.

Gujarat[link]

In 2002, Arun Jaitley helped his close associate, Narendra Modi, win the Gujarat Assembly elections with a landslide mandate, winning 126 out of 182 seats. This partnership rewarded him with a Rajya Sabha nomination^{[citation needed]}.

In December 2007, Arun Jaitley orchestrated a well organized campaign to return the incumbent Chief Minister Narendra Modi back to power. The BJP won 117 seats out of the 182 seats. Narendra Modi specifically asked the party high command to depute Arun Jaitley in Gujarat. The primary poll issues were pro-incumbency of Narendra Modi and good governance by the state administration.

Madhya Pradesh[link]

In 2003, Arun Jaitley, managed the assembly elections for theBJP in the state of Madhya Pradesh. He, along with Uma Bharti, won a majority of 173 out of 230 in the MP Assembly.

Karnataka[link]

Arun Jaitley was specifically put in charge of Karnataka, which went to polls simultaneously with the Lok Sabha in May 2004. Karnataka is the only southern state in which the BJP has a sizable presence and a positive mandate for the BJP was expected. The BJP won 18 out of 26 Lok Sabha Seats in the State and emerged as the single largest party in the Assembly, capturing 83 seats, as opposed to the Congress' 68 and the Janata Dal (Secular)'s 59. The Congress and the JD(S) forged a coalition to form the Government with the Congress' Dharam Singh becoming Chief Minister. This however, did not last. In January 2006, disgruntled JDS leaders, led by H. D. Kumaraswamy decided to form a coalition government in the state in partnership with BJP. The understanding was that after half the remaining term of the assembly, the BJP would have its own Chief Minister in the State. In November 2007 H.D.Kumaraswamy declined to transfer the power to B. S. Yeddyurappa and assembly was dissolved.

In May 2008, Arun Jaitley oversaw a phenomenal election campaign in Karnataka, outdoing his previous performance. In the 224-member Assembly, the BJP won 110 seats, falling 3 short of a majority. Soon after, Arun Jaitley negotiated the support of 5 independent MLAs thus taking the BJP's strength to 115. All party leaders starting from President Rajnath Singh to colleague Sushma Swaraj and the BJP's Chief Ministerial candidate in Karnataka, B.S. Yedyurrappa, credited Arun Jaitley with the victory. The Karnataka victory and the ascendency of Yedyurrappa is widely touted as BJP's entry in South Indian politics.

Bihar[link]

In 2005, after the February elections resulted in a hung verdict, re-elections were held in November in the state of Bihar. This election was fought by the BJP in a coalition with the JD(U). He was the chief strategist of the NDA combine. The BJP, ended up winning an all time high of 58 seats and with the JD(U)'s 88 seats were able to form the government. Nitish Kumar of the JD(U) was instated as Chief Minister and the BJP's Sushil Kumar Modi was installed as Deputy Chief Minister.of Bihar.

Punjab[link]

In February 2007, Arun managed the BJP's campagaign in Punjab and coordinated a strategy between the party and its ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal. Out of the 23 seats the party contested, it won 19, a figure that surpassed all expectations and is the party's best-ever performance in the state.

MCD[link]

Late in 2007, Arun Jaitley was appointed general secretary in-charge of elections to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Of the 272 member Corporation, the BJP won 184 wards.

Personal life[link]

Jaitley has been married to Sangeeta Jaitley since 24 May 1982. They have two children, son Rohan^[10] and daughter Sonali.^[1][4]

References[link]

• Rajya Sabha Member's Weccb Site: Arun Jaitley
• BJP finds its winning mojo: alliances and incumbency
• India Today Interview: Arun Jaitley

He rejoined the Union Cabinet as the Minister of Commerce & Industry and Law & Justice on 29 January 2003.

Manmohan Singh ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ मनमोहन सिंह
13th Prime Minister of India[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office 19 May 2004
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Minister of Railways
In office 19 May 2011 – 13 July 2011
President	Pratibha Patil
Preceded by	Mamata Banerjee
Succeeded by	Dinesh Trivedi
Minister of Finance
In office 30 November 2008 – 24 January 2009
Preceded by	P. Chidambaram
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
In office 21 June 1991 – 16 May 1996
Prime Minister	Narasimha Rao
Preceded by	Yashwant Sinha
Succeeded by	Jaswant Singh
Minister of External Affairs
In office 6 November 2005 – 24 October 2006
Preceded by	Kunwar Natwar Singh
Succeeded by	Pranab Mukherjee
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission
In office 15 January 1985 – 31 August 1987
Prime Minister	Rajiv Gandhi
Preceded by	Narasimha Rao
Succeeded by	Punjala Shiv Shankar
Governor of the Reserve Bank
In office 15 September 1982 – 15 January 1985
Preceded by	Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel
Succeeded by	Amitav Ghosh
Personal details
Born	(1932-09-26) 26 September 1932 (age 79) Gah, Punjab, British India[2]
Political party	Indian National Congress
Spouse(s)	Gursharan Kaur (1958–present)
Children	Upinder Daman Amrit
Residence	Panchavati, New Delhi (Official) Guwahati (Private)
Alma mater	Panjab University, Chandigarh St John's College, Cambridge Nuffield College, Oxford
Profession	Economist Civil servant Social worker Professor
Religion	Sikhism
Signature
Website	Prime Minister's Office

Manmohan Singh (Punjabi: ਮਨਮੋਹਨ ਸਿੰਘ [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪ́ŋɡ], Hindi: मनमोहन सिंह [mənˈmoːɦən ˈsɪŋɦ] ( listen); born 26 September 1932) is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term.^[3] A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister from the Indian National Congress (Congress) party. He is a four-time Member of Parliament from the Upper House of the Parliament of India, the Rajya Sabha, representing the state of Assam.^[4] His term in the 14th Rajya Sabha was from 22 May 2004 to 26 February 2009. In the 15th Rajya Sabha his term started 22 May 2009 and is scheduled to continue till 2014. On 27 May 2012, he became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Myanmar in 25 years.^[5]

Born in Gah, Punjab in British India (now Pakistan) in 1932, he migrated to India with his family at the time of Partition in 1947. Singh studied at Panjab University, University of Cambridge and University of Oxford.^[6] Thereafter, while Singh was working at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Lalit Narayan Mishra, the then Indian Minister for Foreign Trade, appointed Singh as an advisor to his ministry. He was appointed Governor of the Reserve Bank of India between 1982 and 1985,^[6] Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987 ^[6] and Secretary General of the South Commission from 1987 to 1990.^[7] Elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1991, he was inducted into Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet as Finance Minister the same year, a post he held until 1996. His tenure as Finance Minister is best remembered for the economic reforms he carried out, which ended the Licence Raj system and helped open the Indian economy.^[8]

When the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power after the 2004 general elections, Singh became Prime Minister when Congress President Sonia Gandhi unexpectedly declined the position.^[9] In 2009, the UPA and Singh were reelected for a second consecutive five year term.

Key legislation passed during his tenure include the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and the Right to Information Act, 2005. Major initiatives include the National Rural Health Mission of India and the Unique Identification Authority of India.

Early life and education[link]

Manmohan Singh was born to Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur on 26 September 1932, in Gah, Punjab, British India, into a Sikh Khatri family.^[6] He lost his mother when he was very young and was raised by his paternal grandmother, to whom he was very close.

After the Partition of India, his family migrated to Amritsar, India, where he studied at Hindu College. He attended Panjab University, Chandigarh, then in Hoshiarpur,^[10][11][12] Punjab, studying Economics and got his bachelor's and master's degrees in 1952 and 1954, respectively, standing first throughout his academic career. He went on to read for the Economics Tripos at Cambridge as a member of St John's College. He won the Wright's Prize for distinguished performance in 1955 and 1957. He was also one of the few recipients of the Wrenbury scholarship. In 1962, Singh completed his studies from the University of Oxford where he was a member of Nuffield College. His doctoral thesis "India’s export performance, 1951–1960, export prospects and policy implications" which was later the base for his book "India’s Export Trends and Prospects for Self-Sustained Growth".^[13]

Early career[link]

After completing his Ph.D., Singh worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) from 1966–1969. During the 1970s, he taught at the University of Delhi and worked for the Ministry of Foreign Trade with the former Cabinet Minister for Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra. As the Minister of Foreign Trade, Lalit Narayan Mishra was one of the first to recognize Singh's talent as an economist and appointed him his advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Trade. Singh and Mishra first met, coincidentally, on a flight from India to Chile. Mishra was on his way to Santiago, Chile to attend an UNCTAD meeting.^[14]

In 1982, he was appointed the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and held the post until 1985.^[6] He went on to become the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987.^[6] Following his tenure at the Planning Commission, he was Secretary General of the South Commission, an independent economic policy think tank headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland from 1987 to 1990.^[7]

Finance Minister of India[link]

In 1991, India's Prime Minister at the time, P.V. Narasimha Rao, chose Singh to be his Finance Minister. At this time, India's fiscal deficit was close to 8.5 per cent of the gross domestic product, the balance of payments deficit was huge and the current account deficit was close to 3.5 percent of India's GDP.^[15] India's foreign reserves barely amounted to US$1 billion, enough to pay for a few weeks of imports, in comparison to US$283 billion today.^[16]

Evidently, India was facing an economic crisis. At this point, the government of India sought relief from the supranational International Monetary Fund, which, while assisting India financially, imposed several conditions regarding India's economic policy. In effect, IMF-dictated policy meant that the ubiquitous Licence Raj had to be dismantled, and India's attempt at a state-controlled economy had to end. Accordingly, Singh, who had thus far been one of the most influential architects of India's socialist economy, slowly opened the Indian economy to foreign investment and business competition.^[15][17]

Rao and Singh thus implemented policies to open up the economy and change India's socialist economy to a more capitalistic one, in the process dismantling the Licence Raj, a system that inhibited the prosperity of private businesses. They removed many obstacles standing in the way of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and initiated the process of the privatization of public sector companies. However, in spite of these reforms, Rao's government was voted out in 1996 due to non-performance of government in other areas. In praise of Singh's work that pushed India towards a market economy, long-time Cabinet minister P. Chidambaram has referred to Singh as the Deng Xiaoping of India.^[18]

In 1993, Singh offered his resignation from the post of Finance Minister after a parliamentary investigation report criticised his ministry for not being able to anticipate a US$1.8 billion securities scandal. Prime Minister Rao refused Singh's resignation, instead promising to punish the individuals directly accused in the report.^[19]

Career in the Rajya Sabha[link]

Singh was first elected to the upper house of Parliament, the Rajya Sabha, in 1991^[20] by the legislature of the state of Assam, and was re-elected in 1995, 2001 and 2007.^[6] From 1998 to 2004, while the Bharatiya Janata Party was in power, Singh was the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha. In 1999, he contested for the Lok Sabha from South Delhi but was unable to win the seat.^[21]

Prime ministership[link]

14th Lok Sabha[link]

Wikinews has related news: Manmohan Singh becomes the third longest serving Prime Minister of India.

A renowned economist,^[22] Singh is also regarded as one of the "greatest statesmen in Asian history".^[23] Shown here with Indian delegation at the 33rd G8 summit in Heiligendamm.

After the 2004 general elections, the Indian National Congress ended the incumbent National Democratic Alliance (NDA) tenure by becoming the political party with the single largest number of seats in the Lok Sabha. It formed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with allies and staked claim to form government. In a surprise move, Chairperson Sonia Gandhi declared Manmohan Singh, a technocrat, as the UPA candidate for the Prime Ministership. Despite the fact that Singh had never won a Lok Sabha seat, he "has enjoyed massive popular support, not least because he was seen by many as a clean politician untouched by the taint of corruption that has run through many Indian administrations."^[24] He took the oath as the Prime Minister of India on 22 May 2004.^[25][26]

Economic policy[link]

Following the advice of International Monetary Fund in 1991, Singh as Finance Minister, freed India from the Licence Raj, source of slow economic growth and corruption in the Indian economy for decades. He liberalized the Indian economy, allowing it to speed up development dramatically. During his term as Prime Minister, Singh continued to encourage growth in the Indian market, enjoying widespread success in these matters. Singh, along with the former Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram, have presided over a period where the Indian economy has grown with an 8–9% economic growth rate. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9% and became the second fastest growing major economy in the world.^[27][28]

Singh is now a strong supporter of globalization, seeing India's immense labor capacity as a path to delivering Indian goods in a worldwide market and eventually relieving large-scale poverty.^[29]

Singh's government has continued the Golden Quadrilateral and the highway modernisation program that was initiated by Vajpayee's government. Singh has also been working on reforming the banking and financial sectors, as well as public sector companies. The Finance ministry has been working towards relieving farmers of their debt and has been working towards pro-industry policies. In 2005, Singh's government introduced the value added tax, replacing sales tax. In 2007 and early 2008, the global problem of inflation impacted India.^[30]

Healthcare and education[link]

In 2005, Prime Minister Singh and his government's health ministry started the National Rural Health Mission, which has mobilised half a million community health workers. This rural health initiative was praised by the American economist Jeffrey Sachs.^[31] In 2006, his Government implemented the proposal to reserve 27% of seats in All India Institute of Medical Studies (AIIMS), Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other central institutions of higher education for Other Backward Classes which led to 2006 Indian anti-reservation protests.

Singh has announced that eight more Indian Institutes of Technology will be opened in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Orissa, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. The Singh government has also continued the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, begun by his predecessor, Mr. Vajpayee. The programme has included the introduction and improvement of mid-day meals and the opening of schools all over India, especially in rural areas, to fight illiteracy.

Security and Home Affairs[link]

His government has been instrumental in strengthening anti-terror laws with amendments to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), where most of provisions of POTA were reincorporated,critics however cite that the amendments make the act equally draconian. National Investigation Agency (India) (NIA) was also created soon after the Nov 2008 Mumbai terror attacks as need for a central agency to combat terrorism was realised. Also Unique Identification Authority of India was established in February 2009, an agency responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card with the objective of increasing national security and facilitating e-governance. His government has been criticized by some human rights organizations,that these measures could help establish a police state.

His government has also been criticized for not being able to reduce the Naxal terrorism that is menacing rural areas in Eastern and Central India. Singh's government has, however, extended the ban on the radical Islamic terror group Student's Islamic Movement of India (SIMI).

Singh's administration initiated a massive reconstruction effort in Kashmir to stabilise the region but after some period of success, insurgent infiltration and terrorism in Kashmir has increased since 2009.^[32] However, the Singh administration has been successful in reducing terrorism in Northeast India.^[32]

Legislation[link]

The important National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Right to Information Act were passed by the Parliament in 2005 during his tenure. While the effectiveness of the NREGA has been successful at various degrees, in various regions, the RTI act has proved crucial in India's fight against corruption.^[33]

Foreign policy[link]

Manmohan Singh with American President Barack Obama at the White House. Singh is known to be a pro US leader and has contributed a lot in cementing the ties between the two countries.

Manmohan Singh has continued the pragmatic foreign policy that was started by P.V. Narasimha Rao and continued by Bharatiya Janata Party's Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Singh has continued the peace process with Pakistan initiated by his predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Exchange of high-level visits by top leaders from both countries have highlighted his tenure. Efforts have been made during Singh's tenure to end the border dispute with People's Republic of China. In November 2006, Chinese President Hu Jintao visited India which was followed by Singh's visit to Beijing in January 2008. A major development in Sino-Indian relations was the reopening of the Nathula Pass in 2006 after being closed for more than four decades. As of 2010, the People's Republic of China is the second biggest trade partner of India.^[34]

Relations with Afghanistan have also improved considerably, with India now becoming the largest regional donor to Afghanistan.^[35] During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi in August 2008, Manmohan Singh increased the aid package to Afghanistan for the development of more schools, health clinics, infrastructure, and defence.^[36] Under the leadership of Singh, India has emerged as one of the single largest aid donors to Afghanistan.^[36]

Singh's government has worked towards stronger ties with the United States. He visited the United States in July 2005 initiating negotiations over the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement. This was followed by George W. Bush's successful visit to India in March 2006, during which the declaration over the nuclear agreement was made, giving India access to American nuclear fuel and technology while India will have to allow IAEA inspection of its civil nuclear reactors. After more than two years for more negotiations, followed by approval from the IAEA, Nuclear Suppliers Group and the US Congress, India and the U.S. signed the agreement on 10 October 2008 with Pranab Mukherjee representing India.^[37]

Singh had the first official state visit to the White House during the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama. The visit took place in November 2009, and several discussions took place, including on trade and nuclear power.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seen here with Dmitry Medvedev, Hu Jintao, Dilma Rousseff and Jacob Zuma at the 3rd 2011 BRICS Summit in Sanya, China.

Relations have improved with Japan and European Union countries, like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Relations with Iran have continued and negotiations over the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline have taken place. New Delhi hosted an India–Africa Summit in April 2006 which was attended by the leaders of 15 African states.^[38] Relations have improved with other developing countries, particularly Brazil and South Africa. Singh carried forward the momentum which was established after the "Brasilia Declaration" in 2003 and the IBSA Dialogue Forum was formed.^[39]

Manmohan Singh's government has also been especially keen on expanding ties with Israel. Since 2003, the two countries have made significant investments in each other^[40] and Israel now rivals Russia to become India's defence partner.^[41] Though there have been a few diplomatic glitches between India and Russia, especially over the delay and price hike of several Russian weapons to be delivered to India,^[42] relations between the two remain strong with India and Russia signing various agreements to increase defence, nuclear energy and space cooperation.^[43]

15th Lok Sabha[link]

India held general elections to the 15th Lok Sabha in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. The results of the election were announced on 16 May 2009.^[44] Strong showing in Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh helped the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) form the new government under the incumbent Singh, who became the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to win re-election after completing a full five-year term.^[45] The Congress and its allies were able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. These included those of the UPA and the external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other minor parties.^[46]

On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister during a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.^[47][48] The 2009 Indian general election was the largest democratic election in the world held to date, with an eligible electorate of 714 million.

Public image[link]

Singh has always been perceived as a man of clean background. He is seen as a man of few words. The Independent described him as "one of the world's most revered leaders" and "a man of uncommon decency and grace," noting that he drives a Maruti 800, one of the humblest cars in the Indian market. Khushwant Singh lauded Singh as the best prime minister India has had, even rating him higher than Jawaharlal Nehru. He mentions an incident in his book Absolute Khushwant: The Low-Down on Life, Death and Most things In-between where after losing the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, Singh immediately returned the 2 lakh (US$4,000) he had borrowed from the writer for hiring taxis. Terming him as the best example of integrity, Khushwant Singh stated, "When people talk of integrity, I say the best example is the man who occupies the country's highest office." ^[49]

His personal assets amount to five crore rupees (approx 1 million USD).^[50]

In 2010, Newsweek magazine recognized him as a world leader who is respected by other heads of state, describing him as "the leader other leaders love." The article quoted Mohamed ElBaradei, who remarked that Singh is "the model of what a political leader should be."^[51] Singh is number 18 on the 2010 Forbes list of the world's most powerful people.^[52] Forbes magazine described Singh as being "universally praised as India's best prime minister since Nehru".^[53]

His public image has been tarnished recently as he heads the government which is mired in some of the biggest corruption scandals in recent history.^[54][55][56] He is also accused of being a weak prime minister by several politicians and social activists.^[57][58][59]

Family and personal life[link]

Singh married Gursharan Kaur in 1958. They have three daughters, Upinder Singh, Daman Singh and Amrit Singh.^[60]

Upinder Singh is a professor of history at Delhi University. She has written six books, including Ancient Delhi (1999) and A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India (2008).^[61] Daman Singh is a graduate of St. Stephen's College, Delhi and Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat, and author of The Last Frontier: People and Forests in Mizoram and a novel Nine by Nine, ^[62] she is married to an I.P.S official Ashok Patnaik who is on deputation to Intelligence Bureau. Amrit Singh is a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union.^[63]

Singh has undergone multiple cardiac bypass surgeries, the most recent of which took place in January 2009.^[64]

Singh and his wife both belong to the Kohli clan,^[65][66] though neither uses the name as their surname.

Degrees and posts held[link]

• BA (Hons) in Economics 1952; MA First Class in Economics, 1954 Panjab University, Chandigarh {was then in Hoshiarpur,Punjab}, India
• Honours degree in Economics, University of Cambridge – St John's College (1957)
  • Senior Lecturer, Economics (1957–1959)
  • Reader (1959–1963)
  • Professor (1963–1965)
  • Professor of International Trade (1969–1971)
• DPhil in Economics, University of Oxford – Nuffield College (1962)
• Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi
  • Honorary Professor (1966)
• Chief, Financing for Trade Section, UNCTAD, United Nations Secretariat, Manhattan, New York
  • 1966 : Economic Affairs Officer 1966
• Economic Advisor, Ministry of Foreign Trade, India (1971–1972)
• Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, India, (1972–1976)
• Honorary Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (1976)
• Director, Reserve Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Director, Industrial Development Bank of India (1976–1980)
• Secretary, Ministry of Finance (Department of Economic Affairs), Government of India, (1977–1980)
• Governor, Reserve Bank of India (1982–1985)
• Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission of India, (1985–1987)
• Secretary General, South Commission, Geneva (1987–1990)
• Advisor to Prime Minister of India on Economic Affairs (1990–1991)
• Chairman, University Grants Commission (15 March 1991 – 20 June 1991)^[6]
• Finance Minister of India, (21 June 1991 – 15 May 1996)
• Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha (1998–2004)
• Prime Minister of India (22 May 2004 – Present)

Honours, awards and international recognition[link]

In March 1983, Panjab University, Chandigarh awarded him Doctor of Letters and in 2009 created a Dr. Manmohan Singh chair in their economics department.^[67] In 1997, the University of Alberta awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Law degree.^[68] The University of Oxford awarded him an honorary Doctor of Civil Law degree in July 2005,^[69] and in October 2006, the University of Cambridge followed with the same honour.^[70] St. John's College further honoured him by naming a Ph.D Scholarship after him, the Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship. In 2008, he was awarded honorary Doctor of Letters degree by Benaras Hindu University^[71] and later that year he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by University of Madras.^[72] In 2010, he was awarded honorary doctorate degree by King Saud University.^[73]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2012)

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	India portal
	Chandigarh portal
	Politics portal

• Dr. Manmohan Singh Scholarship at the University of Cambridge
• Economic reforms under Manmohan Singh

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Manmohan Singh

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Manmohan Singh

Official

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh official website
• Profile & Curriculum Vitae
• List of current Union Ministers

Other

• Profile at BBC News
• Profile at Forbes
• Official State Visit at the White House
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Wall Street Journal
• Manmohan Singh collected news and commentary at The Times of India
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Manmohan Singh on Charlie Rose
• Articles authored at Journalisted
• Works by or about Manmohan Singh in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Manmohan Singh at the Notable Names Database

Links to related articles v t e Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru Lal Bahadur Shastri Indira Gandhi Morarji Desai Charan Singh Rajiv Gandhi V. P. Singh Chandra Shekhar P. V. Narasimha Rao Atal Bihari Vajpayee H. D. Deve Gowda I. K. Gujral Manmohan Singh v t e Current Leaders of the Group of 20 Fernández de Kirchner · Gillard · Rousseff · Harper · Hu · Barroso · Hollande · Merkel · Singh · Yudhoyono · Monti · Noda · Calderón · Putin · Abdullah · Zuma · Lee · Erdoğan · Cameron · Obama v t e BRICS leaders Brazil: Dilma Rousseff · Russia: Vladimir Putin · India: Manmohan Singh · China: Hu Jintao · South Africa: Jacob Zuma v t e EAS leaders Gillard Bolkiah Wen Hun Singh Yudhoyono Noda Thongsing Najib Thein Key Aquino Putin Lee H. Lee M. Shinawatra Obama Dung v t e SAARC leaders Karzai Hasina Thinley Singh Hassan Bhattarai Gillani Rajapaksa

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Ravi Shankar Prasad (Hindi: रवि शंकर प्रसाद, b. August 30, 1954) is an Indian lawyer and politician^[1] belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He represents Bihar in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Parliament of India. He held the position of Minister of State in the Ministry of Coal and Mines, the Ministry of Law and Justice, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting during the National Democratic Alliance government.

Early life[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (December 2011)

Prasad was born into a prominent family of Patna, Bihar. His father Thakur Prasad was a Senior Advocate at the Patna High Court and one of the founders of the Jan Sangh, which is now the BJP. Ravi Prasad earned BA Hons, MA (Political Science) and LLB degrees from Patna University. He married Maya Shankar on February 3, 1982. Maya is a professor of history at Patna University.

Prasad began his political career as a student leader in the 1970s organising protests against Indira Gandhi's government. He worked in the student movement in Bihar under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and was imprisoned during the Emergency. He was associated with Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for many years and held various posts in the organisation. During his college days he was Assistant General Secretary of the Patna University Students Union and member of the Senate, Finance Committee, Arts and Law Faculties of the University.

Law career[link]

Prasad has been practising at the Patna High Court since 1980. He was designated Senior Advocate at the Patna High Court in 1999 and Senior Advocate at the Supreme Court of India in 2000.

Prasad was the main lawyer arguing the Public Interest Litigation against former Bihar Chief Minister and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav in the Fodder scam and Bitumen scam cases. He has represented former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani and the Bihar Banking Service Recruitment Board before the Patna High Court. His high-profile cases include the Landmark Narmada Bachao Andolan Case, T. N. Thirumpalad v. Union of India, Rameshwar Prasad v. Union of India (the Bihar Assembly Dissolution Case), and Yash Pal's case on medical education in India.

In 2010, Prasad was a lawyer in the longstanding Ayodhya title suit.

Political career[link]

Prasad has held several national-level assignments in the youth wing and the main party organisation of the BJP. He became a Member of Parliament in 2000 and became the Minister of State (Coal and Mines) in 2001 under Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee. Soon after taking over, Prasad accelerated the reforms process in the mining and coal sectors.^{[citation needed]}

Prasad was given the additional charge of Minister of State in the Ministry of Law and Justice in July 2002. Within a fortnight he had prepared a bill amending the Representation of People Act. He sped up the process of fast-track courts.

As Minister of Information and Broadcasting he initiated reforms in the radio, television and animation sectors. He helped establish Goa as the location of the International Film Festival of India.

In April 2002, he led the Indian delegation to the Non-Aligned Movement's ministerial meet in Durban, South Africa. Later he met Yasser Arafat in Ramallah as a member of a Non-Aligned delegation to express solidarity with him. He led the Indian delegation to the Commonwealth Law Minister Summit in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. He has led the Indian delegation to film festivals in Cannes, Venice and London.

Since 1995 Prasad has been a member of BJP National Executive, the party's top policymaking body. Recently, he oversaw the party's efforts in the Uttarakhand Assembly Elections.

Prasad became a national spokesperson of the BJP in 2006 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Bihar in the same year. He was appointed as the Chief National Spokesperson of the BJP in 2007. In 2010, Prasad was appointed as the General Secretary of the BJP.

See also[link]

• Nirmala Sitaraman - one of his team at the NJP

References[link]

External links[link]

• Ravi Shankar Prasad admitted to AIIMS