Singh, one of the architects of India's economic liberalization in the early 1990s, served from 2004 to 2014.
India has declared seven days of mourning and a state funeral for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was hailed as one of the architects of the country's economic liberalization in the early 1990s.
The government announced on Friday that funerals will be held until January 1, with a state funeral being offered “as a mark of respect the nobles left“, who died on Thursday in a New Delhi hospital at the age of 92.
The official date of the state funeral was not immediately announced, however, a senior member of the Congress party said the ceremony, which will see the national flag flown at half-mast at official residences across the country, will take place on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed Singh, who served from 2004 to 2014, as one of the country's “greatest leaders”, while The Times of India paid a front-page tribute describing him as “the man who freed the Indian dream”.
The Indian cricket team paid tribute to Singh on Friday, wearing black armbands as he traveled to Melbourne to take on hosts Australia in the fourth Test.
A few firsts
Born in 1932 in the mud village of Gah in what is now Pakistan, Singh rose from humble beginnings to high status.
He studied economics to find a solution to poverty in this great country, and received scholarships to go to two famous British universities, Cambridge, where he obtained his first degree in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his doctoral studies.
Singh has held a number of civil service posts, served as the ambassador of the central bank and worked with various international organizations such as the United Nations.
Employed in 1991 to bring India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history, he oversaw a major economic boom in his first term as prime minister.
He also sealed the landmark nuclear arms deal with the United States which he said would help India meet its growing energy needs.
However, Singh's second term ended with many scandals of corruption, low growth and high inflation.
Singh's unpopularity in his second term and the erratic leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the opposition leader of the lower house, led to Modi's first victory in 2014.