Hyderabad: Minister for roads and buildings Komatireddy Venkat Reddy in his tribute to former prime minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, said that he was an economist admired by the world and a great leader, who put the country on the path of development with visionary reforms.
Singh was a rare leader who showed that leaders should be dignified in politics. A true-blue patriot, he was a prime minister who lived like a common man and never flaunted his honours degree in economics from Cambridge, Reddy said.
It was thanks to his pioneering efforts that from a situation when India could not function without borrowing by selling gold in 1991, the country has become the fifth largest economy. Ranked last in the world in terms of purchasing power of foreign goods in 1991, it rose to third place by 2014, due to Singh’s futurists initiatives, he said.
During his ten-year tenure as the prime minister, India's GDP growth rate reached 8-9 per cent, the highest in the world. He introduced MGNREGA and increased rural employment opportunities. The Food Security Act ensured food security to the poor, while the Right to Information Act paved the way for transparency in administration and he assured quality education to the marginalised by bringing the Right to Education Act, Venkat Reddy said.
