World-renowned economist and our beloved former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh celebrates his 86th birthday today. Dr. Singh had laid the foundation of the modern Indian economy through his vision and policies as the RBI Governor, Finance Minister and Prime Minister for two terms.Under his visionary leadership, India marched to one of the top positions in economic development. On his birthday, let us extend to Dr. Manmohan Singh our warm wishes and thank him for his stellar contributions to our nation.

He is also remembered for his contribution for development of Assam during his tenure as Prime Minister as he contributed many development projects in Assam which are directly or indirectly related to the economic growth of Assam.

“No rich parents, no influential uncles, no wealth, no inheritance, no one to pull strings and ‘put in a word’ – it was always his merit, his hard work, his honesty, his intelligence and, above all, his deep love for India that energised him. Every young Indian should feel inspired by the life of Manmohan Singh,”

Some key projects in Assam which were developed under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh during UPA :

Projects:

Assam Gas Cracker project:

Dr. Manmohan Singh laid its foundation stone, the Brahmaputra Cracker and Polymer Limited (BCPL), also known as the Assam gas cracker project.

The Assam Gas Cracker Project, was proposed as a part of implementation of the Assam Accord signed on 15 August 1985.

Bogibeel Bridge:

Bogibeel bridge is a combined road and rail bridge over the Brahmaputra river in the North-eastern Indian state of Assam between Dhemaji district and Dibrugarh district.

The original target of the multi-crore-rupee project was set for April, 2009, but since then, the project has missed several deadlines resulting in massive cost over-run. Then Dr. Singh increased the initial outlay of Rs 1,767 crore to Rs 3,230.02 crore which is almost twice the original estimate in 2002.He also categorised this project as “National Project”.

National Register of Citizens (NRC)

Assam NRC Was Initiated By UPA Under Dr. Manmohan Singh

Rajiv Gandhi had initiated the update of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 1985 and then Manmohan Singh had taken steps towards its implementation in 2005 and 2013.

In 2005, then Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh took a decision in a meeting with the state government and AASU to implement the Assam Accord by updating the NRC. On December 6, 2013, the government of India issued a notification for NRC updation.

Dhola–Sadiya Bridge

Construction of the bridge began in 2011 and was completed at a cost of approximately Rs 950 crore. Work on the bridge was initiated under former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh’s regime.

Northeast Frontier Railway

Lumding – Silchar section of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) and connecting other States of North east.

Lifeline for southern Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Manipur, the foundation stone of the broad gauge track was laid way back in 1996 by the then Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda. Declared a National Project by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2004 in view of its strategic importance, work on the Lumding-Silchar suffered heavily with militant groups kidnapping, attacking and killing railway staff, contractors, workers and security personnel between 2000 and 2011.

***Manmohan Singh during his regime developed many other projects such as Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and other institutions of national repute, BTPS, five bridges over the Brahmaputra and modern stadia built during the 33rd National Games and many more.