Manmohan Singh officially appointed as Indian PM

Prominent Indian economist and Congress leader Manmohan Singh is all set to become India's next Prime Minister after being elected leader of Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Wednesday evening.

Singh was elected leader of CPP at a general body meeting held at the central hall of parliament, after Sonia Gandhi rejected appeals by Congress leaders to take back her decision not to accept Prime Ministership, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Sonia will now remain chairperson of the CPP and 71-year-old soft-spoken Manmohan, ex-Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government (1991-96) will be deputy chairperson.

"Singh is likely to be sworn in as prime minister Thursday," the PTI quoted Congress spokesman Anand Sharma as saying.

Meanwhile, the Congress allies have told Sonia that leadership of Congress was an internal party matter and they would support any leader chosen by the CPP.

Earlier, Singh had been expected to serve as Finance Minister under a Congress-led coalition government, with Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister.

But after Sonia's dramatic decision to turn down the government job in what was seen as a bid to shield her party from attacks by the Bharatiya Janata Party and other parties over her foreign birth, Singh was her choice for the post.

Profile: Manmohan Singh

Born in Gah (west Punjab), now in Pakistan, on September 26, 1932, Singh, served as Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao's Congress government (1991-96).

He was educated at Punjab University in India first and then in Oxford and Cambridge in UK. His potential was evident when he won Cambridge's prestigious Adam Smith prize in 1956.

The following year, he returned to India as a university lecturer and for the next nine years remained at Punjab University before being posted for international duty with United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (1966-69).

After that, he joined Delhi School of Economics as a professor. Two years later, his academic career was cut short and he joined the government to serve in various capacities.

He has held several positions, including Chief Economic Advisor and Finance Secretary before becoming Governor of Reserve Bank of India and then Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission and Chairman of University Grants Commission in 1980s and early 1990s.

He was picked up as finance minister of P.V. Narasimha Rao's cabinet between 1991 and 1996. During his ministerial tenure, he not only put India on the map of the world's attractive investment destinations but also brought about a fundamental change in the way India Inc. conducted its business, gaining the nickname of "architect of India's economic reform."

In all these positions, those who worked with him have nothing but admiration for Manmohan's talent as well as behavior.

Despite being unfailingly polite, Singh is known for his hard and bold economic decisions. In addition, for what Singh has done as Finance Minister, there are as many critics as admirers. Thrice,he had submitted his resignation during his five-year tenure but the then Prime Minister (Rao) did not allow him to quit.

Luckily, the reform foundation that Singh had laid had only taken India forward and was pursued by the subsequent United Frontand National Democratic Alliance governments.

Unlike the crisis days of 1991, Singh would be a proud man as he takes over the Prime Ministership of country with India's GrossDomestic Product growth clocking 8 percent, Foreign Exchange reserves comfortable at 118 billion US dollars with exports at over 60 billion US dollars, and inflation at 5 percent.

The 71-year-old member of Rajya Sabha (Upper House of parliament) from north eastern Indian state of Assam has been welcomed by trade and industry as an instant choice for the coveted post.

He is married to Gursharan Kaur and has three daughters.