Jaswant Singh: India is set to outperform

Mr Singh told the Indian Express newspaper that India's strong economic fundamentals and good debt repayment record had set the stage for "explosive growth" over the next few years.

"We are one of the few countries that has really, without much trouble, repaid $3bn (�1.8bn) ahead of time, and already the reserves have crossed $76bn again," Mr Singh said.

"These are signs of great fundamental strength. We are close to what I call criticality."

Mr Singh identified weak agricultural production as a drag on Indian economic growth, but said the economically dominant manufacturing and service sectors were in good shape.

Creative solutions

He added that the "creativity" of India would become one of its main growth engines in future.

India's growth rate slowed to about 5% a year between 2000 and 2002, down from more than 7% during the mid to late 1990s.

The country began pushing through market reforms in earnest during the 1990s, but these have since become bogged down in disputes about ownership of key industries between the government and state authorities.

India's low labour costs and highly skilled workforce have also made it one of the main destinations for firms seeking to outsource customer service and information technology functions.