Michael Irvin's 4 Kids: Meet Myesha, Chelsea, Michael Jr. and Elijah (and Find Out Who Followed in Their NFL Dad's Footsteps!)New Delhi: Manmohan Singh, who is credited with successfully anchoring the sinking ship of the Indian economy by ushering in bold economic reforms under Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao, died at the age of 92 on Thursday. When Singh took the reins of the Finance Ministry in 1991, India’s fiscal deficit was close to 8.5 per cent of the GDP, the balance of payments deficit was huge and the current account deficit was close to 3.5 per cent of GDP. To make things worse, foreign reserves were just enough to pay for two weeks of imports indicating that the Indian economy was in deep crisis. Against this backdrop, the new economic era was brought in through the Union Budget 1991-92 presented by Singh. It was a turning point in the economic history of independent India which witnessed bold economic reforms, abolition of licence raj and opening of many sectors to private players and foreign players so that capital could flow in. He is credited with putting India on the new economic policy path which allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), rupee devaluation, moderation in taxes, and privatisation of public sector companies. His role in ushering in a comprehensive policy of economic reforms is now recognized worldwide. “I present to you the budget of 1991-92”, Singh had said when he stood to present the iconic union budget that took the Indian economy into the direction of liberalisation, globalisation and privatisation. The budget marked a significant shift towards a markets-focused economy. This paved the way for rapid economic growth in the decades that followed. “No power on Earth can stop an idea whose time has come,” Singh had said, as he concluded his Budget speech. Under his tenure, the regulations on import and export were relaxed, and significant changes were made to cater to the needs of businesses. The initiatives taken during his tenure resulted in monumental growth of the services sector especially IT and telecom. On the capital market side, the establishment of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) in 1992 was another highlight of his regime. He continued as the Finance Minister till 1996, when the Rao government was voted out. Singh got another chance in May 2004 to serve the country, this time as the Prime Minister of India. He replaced Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the 14th Prime Minister of the country. In the new avatar, Singh carried forward the ideas of economic liberalisation in 1991 as this path was now tried and tested. In 2007, India achieved its highest GDP growth rate of 9 per cent and became the second fastest-growing major economy in the world. During his tenure as Prime Minister, the Mahatma Gandhi National Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) was enacted in 2005 to deal with rural distress and perk up income. Indirect tax reforms were introduced by ushering in the value added tax, replacing sales tax. Besides, a Rs 76,000 crore farm debt waiver and debt relief scheme was implemented across the country which benefited crores of farmers. He also steered the nation during the 2008 global financial meltdown and announced a huge stimulus package to deal with the situation. Aadhaar was introduced through the Unique Identification Authority of India during his tenure as prime minister for targetted subsidy transfer. Direct Benefit Transfers for many schemes were announced under his leadership. He also promoted financial inclusion in a big way and many bank branches were opened during his tenure as the Prime Minister. Other reforms like the Right to Food and the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act were enacted during his regime."MASSIVE BLOW" Aron Lund, a fellow of the Century International think tank, called the loss of Hama "a massive, massive blow to the Syrian government" because the army should have had an advantage there to reverse rebel gains "and they couldn't do it". He said HTS would now try to push on towards Syria's third largest city, Homs, some 40km to the south, where many residents were already leaving on Thursday, images on social media showed. Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman reported a mass exodus from the city of members of Assad's Alawite minority community. He said tens of thousands were heading towards areas along Syria's Mediterranean coast, where the Alawites, followers of an offshoot of Shiite Islam, form the majority. "We are afraid and worried that what happened in Hama will be repeated in Homs," said a civil servant, who gave his name only as Abbas. "We fear they (the rebels) will take revenge on us," the 33-year-old said. Until last week, the war in Syria had been mostly dormant for years, but analysts have said it was bound to resume as it was never truly resolved. UN chief Antonio Guterres said the flare-up reflects "the bitter fruits of a chronic collective failure of previous de-escalation arrangements". In a video posted online, HTS leader Abu Mohammed al-Jolani said his fighters had entered Hama to "cleanse the wound that has endured in Syria for 40 years", referring to a crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in 1982, which led to thousands of deaths. "I ask God almighty that it be a conquest with no revenge," he added. In a later message on Telegram congratulating "the people of Hama on their victory," he used his real name, Ahmed al-Sharaa, instead of his nom de guerre for the first time. FIERCE FIGHTING The Observatory said 826 people, mostly combatants but also including 111 civilians, have been killed in Syria since the violence erupted last week. It marks the most intense fighting since 2020 in the civil war sparked by the repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011. Key to the rebels' successes since the start of the offensive last week was the takeover of Aleppo, which in more than a decade of war had never entirely fallen out of government hands. While the advancing rebels met little resistance earlier in their offensive, the fighting around Hama has been especially fierce. The Observatory reported 222 people killed in Hama province since Tuesday evening, four of them civilians. Assad ordered a 50 per cent raise in career soldiers' pay, state news agency SANA reported Wednesday, as he seeks to bolster his forces for a counteroffensive. Rebels drove back the Syrian armed forces despite the government's sending in "large military convoys", the Observatory said. FIERCE FIGHTING The Observatory said 826 people, mostly combatants but also including 111 civilians, have been killed in Syria since the violence erupted last week. It marks the most intense fighting since 2020 in the civil war sparked by the repression of pro-democracy protests in 2011. Key to the rebels' successes since the start of the offensive last week was the takeover of Aleppo, which in more than a decade of war had never entirely fallen out of government hands. While the advancing rebels met little resistance earlier in their offensive, the fighting around Hama has been especially fierce. The Observatory reported 222 people killed in Hama province since Tuesday evening, four of them civilians. Assad ordered a 50 per cent raise in career soldiers' pay, state news agency SANA reported Wednesday, as he seeks to bolster his forces for a counteroffensive. Rebels drove back the Syrian armed forces despite the government's sending in "large military convoys", the Observatory said. RISK OF "ABUSES" The rebels launched their offensive in northern Syria on Nov 27, the same day a ceasefire took effect in the war between Israel and Hezbollah in neighbouring Lebanon. Both Hezbollah and Russia have been crucial backers of Assad's government, but have been mired in their own conflicts in recent years. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Thursday that his group's fighters "will be by Syria's side in thwarting the goals of this aggression as much as we can". Human Rights Watch warned the fighting "raises concerns that civilians face a real risk of serious abuses at the hands of opposition armed groups and the Syrian government". HTS is rooted in Syria's Al-Qaeda branch. The group has sought to moderate its image in recent years, but experts say it faces a challenge convincing Western governments it has fully renounced hardline jihadism. The United States maintains hundreds of troops in eastern Syria as part of a coalition formed against Islamic State group jihadists.