Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, 28 June 2025, paid homage to former prime minister P. V. Narasimha Rao on the leader’s 104th birth anniversary, saying the nation remains grateful for his “effective leadership” during a crucial stage of its development trajectory. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and other senior politicians echoed the sentiment, hailing Rao as a towering statesman and crediting his 1991 liberalisation package with steering India out of a balance-of-payments crisis and placing the economy on a path of sustained growth. Rao governed from 1991 to 1996 after earlier stints overseeing the defence, home affairs and human-resource-development portfolios. Born on 28 June 1921 in Karimnagar, Telangana, the scholar-politician was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously last year in recognition of his far-reaching economic and institutional reforms.