Manmohan Singh's demise: Jharkhand declares 7-day state mourning

Ranchi: The Jharkhand government declared a state mourning for seven days on Friday as a mark of respect to former prime minister Manmohan Singh, who passed away last night, an official said.

The government has also cancelled all its scheduled programmes, including the state level event for Jharkhand Mukhyamantri Maiyan Samman Yojana (JMMSY) on Saturday, an official statement said.

"In honour of the late former Prime Minister, the Government of India has decided to observe seven days of state mourning from December 26 to January 1, 2025. The Jharkhand government has also decided to observe seven days of state mourning," the release said.

"The national flag will be flown at half-mast at all buildings in Jharkhand where it is flown regularly and no state function of any kind will be organised during the period," it added.

Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences on Thursday night. He was 92.

Earlier, Jharkhand CM condoled the death of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and said the country lost one of its great sons.

Jharkhand Governor Santosh Gangwar also expressed his grief. He said that Singh's contributions as the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Finance Minister and Prime Minister, will always be remembered.

The JMM-led alliance government had earlier announced that the beneficiaries of Jharkhand’s flagship scheme, ‘Maiyan Samman Yojana, will begin receiving increased financial assistance of Rs 2,500 from December 28.

A mega state-level event was also scheduled for Saturday in Ranchi's Namkum area.

Launched in August, the scheme initially provided Rs 1,000 to women aged 18-50, benefiting about 55 lakh women.

The state government had promised to raise the amount to Rs 2,500 in December, fulfilling a commitment made during the elections.