India's 14th prime minister, Manmohan Singh is hailed as the architect of the country's economic reforms.
In 1991, the liberalisation process ushered in by the Narasimha Rao government opened India's gates to foreign direct investment. Under Manmohan Singh, the economy flourished, industry growth picked up, inflation was brought under control and growth rates remained high.
He has also served as an economic advisor to the finance ministry in the late 1970s, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission and chairman of the University Grants Commission in 1980s and early 1990s and as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1982 to 1985.
In the 1996 general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party emerged as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha but did not have enough strength to prove a majority on the floor of the Parliament. Under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP-led coalition lasted in power for 13 days.
The United Front government -- a coalition of 13 parties -- came to power in 1996 as a minority government with the support of the Congress party. P Chidambaram took over the finance portfolio in the United Front government under the premiership of H D Deve Gowda. This government lasted less than a year, as the Congress withdrew support in March 1997. Inder Kumar Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as the prime minister of the coalition.
In November 1997, the Congress again withdrew support to the government. New elections in February 1998 saw the BJP getting the largest number of seats in Parliament. On March 20, 1998, the BJP-led coalition government was sworn in with Vajpayee again as the prime minister.
When the BJP came to power in 1998, Yashwant Sinha became the finance minister.
Yashwant Sinha
Yaswant Sinha held the post of finance minister from March 1998 to July 2002. He then became foreign minister after he exchanged his portfolio with Jaswant Singh. Sinha is credited for pushing through several major reforms that put the Indian economy on a fast track.
He lowered interest rates, introduced tax deduction for mortgage interest, opened up the telecommunications sector and deregulated the petroleum industry.
Image: Manmohan Singh (left) and Yashwant Sinha (right).
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