India’s former finance minister, Arun Jaitley, died Saturday in a New Delhi hospital months after he stepped away from the job due to deteriorating health.

A close associate of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 66-year-old Jaitley was credited with steering landmark economic reform that helped create a single market in India for the first time since the country’s independence in 1947.

It was also under his watch that Modi announced his controversial decision to scrap 86 percent of India’s currency.

One of Modi’s most articulate ministers in parliament who was often called upon to defend the government.

The former lawyer turned politician was known as one of the sharpest minds in the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. He also briefly headed the Defense Ministry.

Source : VOA