Manmohanomics in 2009

He made headlines in 2009 by becoming only the second Indian Prime Minister to serve two consecutive terms; the first was Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Dr Manmohan Singh was unanimously elected Leader of the House after Congress' victory in the general elections.

Dr Manmohan Singh's second term began with several direct attacks from the Opposition. BJP leaders like L K Advani and Narendra Modi called him a 'weak' Prime Minister. (AFP Image)

In May 2009, reports of increasing attacks on Indians in Australia prompted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to call up his Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd. India's continued pursuance of the matter finally resulted in the Australian government toughening its stand against such incidents, and coming up with a new punitive law.

With the world reeling under the economic recession, Budget 2009-10 was a challenge for the UPA government. But Dr Manmohan Singh's acumen in economics helped Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee present the document in Parliament.

Though the 30-stock Sensex lost over 5.5 per cent after the budget announcement, Prime Minister's "budget that focuses on growth in rural India" slogan later received thumbs up. (AFP Images)

In July, the joint statement issued with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt, turned into Dr Singh's biggest challenge of the year. The Opposition turned the heat on by calling the Prime Minister 'weak' in Parliament, and accusing the government of softening its stand against Pakistan. Dr Singh replied by firmly stating that the composite dialogue won't start till Pakistan addresses India's concerns on terrorism. (AFP Image)

The Manmohan-led government was also criticised for signing the End-User pact for defence purchases with the United States. After last year's nuclear deal with the US attracted flak from both allies and the Opposition, the Prime Minister was again in the line of fire for 'compromising' India's security. In a speech in Parliament, he defended India's move to sign the pact by clarifying that it doesn't compromise India's sovereignty.

Relations with China were also a major challenge for Dr Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. China lay claim to all of Arunachal Pradesh and objected to Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama's September visit to the state's Tawang monastery. The Prime Minister pulled a balancing act by giving the trip a go ahead but preventing the Tibetan spiritual leader from making any controversial or inflammatory statement.

India's fourteenth Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, was born September 26, 1932, in a village in the Punjab province of pre-partition India. Dr Singh passed his Matriculation exam at Punjab University in 1948. His academic career took him from Punjab to the University of Cambridge, UK, where he earned a First Class Honours degree in Economics in 1957. (AFP Image)

In 1971, Dr Singh joined the Government of India as Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. This was soon followed by his appointment as Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance in 1972. Among the many Government positions that Dr Singh has held, are Secretary in the Ministry of Finance; Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Advisor to the Prime Minister, and Chairman of the University Grants Commission.

1991 was a turning point in the economic history of independent India, as the country ushered in a whole new era of economic liberalisation under Dr Singh. He was the Finance Minister from 1991-1995. (AFP Image)