Happy Birthday Manmohan Singh: As PM he spent most of his birthdays aboard Air India One

Former Prime Minister and veteran Congress leader Manmohan Singh will turn 88 on Saturday and it is only fit we recall his service to the nation as the 13th Prime Minister of Independent India. He was the first Sikh Prime Minister who served the country for two consecutive terms from 2004 to 2014. Currently, he is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan.

Singh was born to Sardar Gurmukh Singh and Amrit Kaur in 1932 in Gah of Punjab, which is now in Chakwal District of Pakistan. He usually say, "I really don't know my birthday. This is the date mentioned in my school records."

Manmohan Singh completed his studies from Hindu College, Amritsar and graduated from Panjab University. After completing his MA he went to Cambridge University, London for higher education. Manmohan Singh worked in the Ministry of Commerce as an Economic Advisor in 1971. In 1972, he worked as the Chief Advisor in the Ministry of Finance.

For the uninitiated, Manmohan Singh has also held the post of Chairman of University Grants Commission, Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, and later Governor of Reserve Bank before serving as the Finance Minister of India from 1991-1996.