A state funeral has begun for Manmohan Singh, the former Indian prime minister widely regarded as the architect of the country’s economic reform program

The country’s first Sikh prime minister, he introduced free-market reforms that turned India into an economic powerhouse and sought reconciliation with Pakistan.

Here are five milestones from Singh's life that shaped his career and had a lasting impact on more than a billion Indians. Singh was appointed finance minister in 1991 by the Congress party-led government under Prime Minister PV Narsimha Rao.

Described as a "reluctant king" in his first stint as prime minister, the soft-spoken Manmohan Singh, who died on Thursday at 92, was arguably one of India's most successful leaders.