- The Karnataka Cabinet, under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, approved the renaming of Bengaluru City University (BCU) to ‘Dr. Manmohan Singh City University’, to honour the former Prime Minister of India.
Significance:
- This is the first university in India to be named after Dr. Manmohan Singh, who passed away on December 26, 2024.
- Additionally, the Bengaluru Rural district will now be known as Bengaluru North, and Bagepalli taluk will be renamed as Baghyanagara.
About Dr. Manmohan Singh:
i. Tenure as PM:
Served as the 13th Prime Minister of India for two terms from 2004 to 2014. He is considered the architect of India’s economic liberalization.
ii. Role as Finance Minister:
Held office from 1991 to 1996, leading India’s 1991 economic reforms under PM Narasimha Rao. He initiated structural reforms, removed the license raj, and promoted FDI.
iii. Honours:
Recipient of the Padma Bhushan (1987) and Padma Vibhushan (2001) for contributions to public affairs.
Note on Bengaluru City University (BCU):
- Established in 2017, BCU was formerly part of Bangalore University.
- It was later bifurcated into three: Bangalore University (BU), Bengaluru City University (BCU), and Bengaluru North University (BNU).