Manmohan Singh was born in September 1932, in the village Gah in the Punjab province before Partition.

On former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's birthday today, one of the earliest messages came from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a week-long visit to the United States. "Best wishes to our former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji on his birthday. I pray for his long and healthy life," tweeted PM Modi.

Manmohan Singh, a Rajya Sabha member and one of the Congress's top leaders, turns 87 today. The renowned economist, credited with bringing in sweeping reforms in the 1990s, was Prime Minister for 10 years until the Congress was decimated by the BJP in 2014 and PM Modi took power for the first time.

"Greetings and warm wishes to former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh ji on his birthday. I wish him good health and a long life," Defence Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.

Dr Singh was born on September 26, 1932, in the village Gah in the Punjab province before Partition.

Best wishes to our former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji on his birthday. I pray for his long and healthy life. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) September 25, 2019

He studied at the Panjab University, Cambridge and Oxford.

In 1971, Dr. Singh joined the government as Economic Advisor in the Commerce Ministry. His most memorable stint before he became prime minister in 2004 was as finance minister in the government of PV Narasimha Rao, when he carried out various structural reforms to pull the country out of an economic crisis.

In 2004, he became Prime Minister after Sonia Gandhi refused to take the top post following the Congress's election win. Towards the end of his second term, the Congress government battled allegations of corruption and an economic slowdown.

A number of Congress leaders tweeted birthday wishes for Dr Singh.

"Best wishes to Dr Manmohan Singh ji on his birthday. He played a vital role in India's recognition as an Economic Superpower and the nation will forever be indebted for same. May God bless him with health & happiness," tweeted Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, with the hashtag #HappyBirthdayDrSingh, which trended on Twitter.