Amaravathi (Andhra Pradesh) [India], June 28 (ANI): YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday paid tribute to former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao on his 104th birth anniversary.

Former Andhra Chief Minister Reddy remembered Bharat Ratna PV Narasimha Rao as a visionary leader who revolutionised India's economic landscape through his reforms.

In an X post, the Reddy wrote, 'The visionary who transformed the country's economic condition with reforms, Bharat Ratna PV Narasimha Rao. On the occasion of the birth anniversary of PV, who provided numerous remarkable services to the nation as India's first Telugu Prime Minister, we pay our tributes.'

Former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao was posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, by President Droupadi Murmu on March 30, 2024.

Born on June 28, 1921, in Karimnagar, Telangana, as an agriculturist and an advocate, Narasimha Rao entered politics and held several important portfolios. He served as the Minister of Law and Information, 1962-64; Law and Endowments, 1964-67; Health and Medicine, 1967; and Education, 1968-71, Government of Andhra Pradesh.

Rao, the ninth Prime Minister of India, assumed office in June 1991 and stayed in power till May 1996. He is credited with bringing many economic reforms to the country, particularly for dismantling the License Raj.

Rao took over the post of Home Minister on July 19, 1984, and was re-appointed to this post, with the additional charge of the Ministry of Planning, on November 5, 1984.

He was appointed as the Minister of Defence from December 31, 1984, to September 25, 1985. On September 25, 1985, he took over as the Minister of Human Resource Development.

He was the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh from 1971 to 1973 and General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee from 1975 to 1976. (ANI)