Recollecting the late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s legacy in Visakhapatnam!

On December 26, 2024, we lost a great leader and visionary one who is considered the architect of key liberalising economic reforms in the Indian sub-continent. He was also one of the four longest-serving Prime Ministers after Narendra Modi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi. He, who died at 92, was known for making bold decisions when India’s economic conditions faced a serious financial crisis. Today, as India mourns the death of the eminent leader Manmohan Singh, let us recall his visits and contributions to Visakhapatnam.

1. Launching the First Indigenous Nuclear Submarine in Visakhapatnam

During 1991, Manmohan Singh, during his term as a finance minister, in the Narasimha Rao cabinet, helped India’s economy to achieve greater heights.

However, the other achievement that is less talked about in his political career is how he stood his ground to make an official nuclear deal with the US amid stiff opposition. 

He was the first Prime Minister who initiated the Indo-US nuclear agreement and sealed the deal. 

Indian Navy made historical feet with the launch of the first indigenous nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant in Visakhapatnam in 2009.

The late Prime Minister Manmohan Singh graced the occasion that occurred at the Eastern National Command Air base INS Dega in Visakhapatnam.

“The construction of a submarine is a highly demanding task by itself. For the country to develop its first nuclear submarine is a special achievement. Today we join a select group of five nations who possess the capability to build a nuclear-powered submarine.” said the former Prime Minister while addressing the gathering. 

With the launch of this submarine, India joined an exclusive club of the US, Russia, China, France and the UK with similar capabilities.

2. Laying Foundation for the Expansion of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant

Another contribution of the late Prime Minister in Visakhapatnam was  helping in the expansion of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant. 

The Prime Minister, in 2006 during YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s tenure as a Chief Minister, visited Visakhapatnam to lay the foundation stone for the expansion of Visakhapatnam Steel Pant.

During the same visit, the Prime Minister also presented a cheque of Rs 1 crore to Visakhapatnam Steel Plant at a presentation of the PM’s trophy for the best integrated steel plant. 

After this occasion, the plant’s production capacity increased from 3.4 million tonnes to 6.3 million tonnes of steel per year between 2006 and 2015.

Even though he was ridiculed as “Maun-Mohan” for speaking less, it was in his term that India saw the world’s biggest job guarantee scheme, the MNREGS, and the powerful Right to Information (RTI) Act that revolutionalised the official’s transparency game!

In January 2014, a few months before leaving office, the minister said, “I do not believe that I have been a weak Prime Minister … I honestly believe that history will be kinder to me than the contemporary media, or for that matter, the opposition in Parliament… Given the political compulsions, I have done the best I could do.”

As India grieves his passing, we can only hope that history will honor and celebrate his remarkable achievements.

Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram for more city and news updates.