<span style="color: #222222;">Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu today paid rich tributes to former Prime Minister Pamulaparti Venkata Narasimha Rao on his birth anniversary and recalled the pioneering role played by him in initiating economic reforms at a critical juncture when the Indian economy was on the brink of a collapse. In a Facebook post, Mr Naidu referred to the measures initiated by the former Prime Minister to liberalize the economy.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice President said, Mr Rao sought to dismantle the restrictions imposed under the license raj, reduce red tape and make Indian industries more competitive. He said the former Prime Minister laid the foundation for trade liberalization and re-integration of Indian economy with the global economy, especially East Asian economies. Mr Naidu said, it was a major shift from the inward orientation of the previous regimes to a new trajectory of globally integrated development.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice President said, P V Narasimha Rao was a reformer and wanted India to learn from what was happening elsewhere in the world and wanted the crisis to be turned into an opportunity. He said that a huge credit should go to P V Narasimha Rao for the growth of India's GDP in the subsequent years and the emergence of the country as the fastest growing economy in the recent past. Pointing out that gradually a broad consensus emerged in the country on the need to continue with the reforms, he said, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee accelerated the reforms, while the present Prime Minister Narendra Modi is implementing the reforms with greater vigour.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The Vice President observed that Narasimha Rao laid a strong foundation for national nuclear security as well. Among his bold moves in foreign policy were establishing diplomatic relations with Israel and reversing decades of frosty relations between India and the United States by bringing them together. He said, P V Narasimha Rao was also fairly successful in controlling the separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir. The Vice President said the launch of the Look East policy and the path-breaking 73rd and 74th Constitutional amendments empowering local bodies during Narasimha Rao's tenure as the Prime Minister are worthy of mentioning.</span><br />