Born in 1991

India faced its worst economic crisis since independence — foreign exchange reserves were so depleted that gold was physically flown to London as collateral. Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, working under P. V.

Narasimha Rao's government, launched sweeping economic reforms: liberalisation, privatisation, opening to foreign investment. It was the most consequential economic decision in Indian history. Most people didn't understand what was happening, but the effects would reshape every life within a decade.