Manmohan Singh

Awards & Honours

Awards Won

Honours

Rankings

Covers

Records

Manmohan Singh's career was defined by one transformative achievement: the 1991 economic reforms that pulled India back from the brink of default and set it on a path of high growth. As Finance Minister, he dismantled the Licence Raj, devalued the rupee, and opened the economy to foreign investment. As Prime Minister, he passed landmark social welfare laws and secured the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, ending India's nuclear isolation. His quiet dignity and intellectual heft made him a respected figure worldwide, even as his second term faced criticism. He remains the only Sikh prime minister of India and the first since Nehru to be re-elected after a full term.

AwardsSingh received India's second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 1987. He won the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award in 2002 and the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 2010. Internationally, he received the BBC's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005 and Japan's Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers in 2014. He also held honorary doctorates from Oxford, Cambridge, and many other universities.

Honours & Distinctions

Padma Vibhushan

Government of India·1987

India's second-highest civilian award.

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Paulownia Flowers

Government of Japan·2014

One of Japan's highest honors.

Rankings & Lists

#Included

TIME 100 Most Influential People

TIME·2010

#Ranked

Forbes World's Most Powerful People

Forbes·2010

Magazine Covers

TIME

2005-07-18

The Underdog

The Economist

1991-07-27

India's Reformer

India Today

2004-05-31

The Man Who Saved India

Records & Feats

First Sikh Prime Minister of India

Historic First·2004

Manmohan Singh was the first and only Sikh to hold the office of Prime Minister of India.

First Prime Minister Since Nehru to Be Re-elected After a Full Term

Career Milestone·2009

He led the UPA to victory in 2009, becoming the first prime minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to office after completing a full five-year term.