Former President Pranab Mukherjee passes away at 84 in Delhi's Army Hospital (R&R)

Former President Dr. Pranab Mukherjee passed away on Monday after being put in a coma post a successful brain surgery at Army Hospital (R&R) in New Delhi. news was confirmed by his son - Abhijit Mukherjee, who thanked hospital staff and doctors for ir efforts. 84-year-old was hospitalised on August 10 to undergo brain surgery for removal of a clot and had tested positive for Coronavirus (COVID-19).

Former President Pranab Mukherjee passes away

Pranab Mukherjee's deteriorating health

Since August 10, regular reports from Army Hospital stated that former President was in deep coma and on ventilator support, remaining haemodynamically stable while being treated for lung infection. While he had been operated for removal of a clot in brain, he had also developed a lung infection and had a renal dysfunction apart from being infected with COVID-19 at time of admission. Mukherjee was 13th President of India from 2012-2017.

About Pranab Mukherjee

Pranab Mukherjee was  born in small vill of Mirati in Birbhum District of West Bengal as son of freedom fighters, Shri Kamada Kinkar Mukherjee and Rajlakshmi on December 11, 1935. After acquiring a Master’s degree in History and Political Science as well as a degree in Law from University of Kolkata, he became a college teacher and a journalist. Joining Congress party, he was elected to Rajya Sabha in 1969.

Rising in former PM Indira Gandhi's cabinet, he was made Deputy Minister, Industry, Shipping and Transport, Steel and Industry and Minister of State for Finance in 1973-74 during Emergency era. He was first made Finance Minister in 1982 in Indira Gandhi cabinet and was Leader of House in Upper House of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) from 1980 to 1985. Later he was made Minister for Commerce from 1993 to 1995, Minister of External Affairs from 1995 to 1996, Minister of Defence from 2004 to 2006, Minister of External Affairs from 2006 to 2009 and Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2012 and Leader of Lok Sabh from 2004-2012, till he resigned to be made President of India. He was awarded Bharat Ratna- India's highest civilian hour in 2019.

Mukherjee was most tably kwn for his ecomic policies - specifically improving India's finances to successfully returning last instalment of India's first IMF loan. Moreover, in Narasimha Rao government as Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, working alongside n-FM Manmohan Singh, Mukherjee put an end to Licence Raj to open up Indian ecomy and to usher in significant ecomic reforms. Apart from presenting annual Budgets of 2009, 2010, 2011 he also laid foundation for Goods & Service Tax (GST) which was introduced in 2017 by n-FM Arun Jaitely.

Becoming first Bengali to hold office as President of India, he was sworn into office on 25 July 2012.  As President, he promulgated several key Acts like Criminal Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2013 and also rejected mercy pleas of death row convicts -  Yakub Memon, Ajmal Kasab, Afzal Guru leading to ir hanging. Mukherjee is survived by his two sons and a daughter. His wife - Surva Mukherjee, whom he married in 1957, passed away on 18 August 2015, d 74 of heart failure.