By Paul de Bendern and Krittivas Mukherjee
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Monday he failed to do enough in his first year, but defended himself against criticisms of weak leadership and said progress would soon be made on concerns like high inflation.
Inflation would moderate to around 5 to 6 percent in December, he said. Inflation is running at nearly 10 percent and is a major worry for the government as it has raised prices of basic foods and increased the chance of interest rate hikes.
Singh, who is 77 and underwent heart surgery last year, spent much of a rare 90 minute news conference fending off questions over his leadership after a series of crises ate into his parliamentary majority and stalled many reform bills.
Often seen as the "reluctant" prime minister appointed by Congress party head Sonia Gandhi in 2004, Singh said he was not thinking of retirement. But he hinted he could eventually make way for family scion Rahul Gandhi.
Despite being freed from the shackles of needing communist support in the second term, his government has floundered on inflation, struggled against a Maoist insurgency, and managed its political allies so badly its substantial parliamentary majority dwindled.
"I would be the first person to admit that we could have done more," Singh said in a statement given during a rare news conference in New Delhi to mark the first year since the Congress-led coalition government was reelected to a second term.
"The work is incomplete right now," Singh said later at the news conference and with that the case "there is no question of retirement".
Singh has disappointed many investors with a slow pace of reforms that investors say are needed to ensure India can sustain fast economic growth and compete with the likes of China. Link
