Former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh passed away on Thursday, December 26, in Delhi at the age of 92. In an illustrious career spanning over six decades, Dr. Singh wore many hats—those of an academic, economist, bureaucrat, and politician.
Dr. Singh also had many 'firsts' to his name. Here are some of them:
Dr. Manmohan Singh was the first, and so far the only person, to have his signature on the ?1 and all other currency notes. For the unversed, the ?1 note is the only Indian currency issued by the Indian government.?
It is issued by the Ministry of Finance and bears the signature of the Finance Secretary, while all other notes are issued by the Reserve Bank of India and signed by the RBI Governor.
Manmohan Singh, who served as both Finance Secretary of India and RBI Governor, thus has the unique distinction of having his signature on the ?1 note and other currencies.
He was also the first Governor of the RBI to become the Prime Minister of India and the second RBI Governor to become Finance Minister.
Manmohan Singh was the first person from the Sikh community to become the Prime Minister of India.?
He was also the only Prime Minister of India who was never elected to the Lok Sabha. Dr. Singh was a six-term MP, but as a member of the Rajya Sabha representing Assam.
Because of this, Dr. Singh was also the first Prime Minister who could not vote for himself during the Vote of Confidence in 2004, which he was seeking from the Lok Sabha, as he was not an MP in the lower house.
He was also the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.
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