“A big zero”. That, in the words of one leading Indian chief executive, is the legacy of Manmohan Singh as India’s prime minister. A distinguished economist and one-time finance minister, who became prime minister in May 2004 after Congress party leader Sonia Gandhi opted to wield power from behind the scenes, Mr Singh has been a crashing disappointment. Much of the blame for his failure to press ahead with much-needed structural reform has been laid, all too conveniently, at the door of the Left bloc. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance coalition government depends on the outside support of four allied Communist parties for its parliamentary majority.

With the Left blocking privatisation and labour reform – the keys to better infrastructure and job creation – the UPA has made negligible progress in pushing through a second generation of economic reforms. The result is that the economy’s chances of matching China’s double-digit growth have all but evaporated. Inflation has surged to above 11 per cent, twice the Reserve Bank of India’s comfort level; the public finances are in tatters; and the trade deficit is ballooning. The main stock market index is down 45 per cent in dollar terms since January, making India the worst performing emerging market.