"I am not unambiguously attached to reforms. I feel that India has to compete with the rest of the world on its own strength," Singh told the Economic Times in an interview published Monday.

"I am not enamoured of India copying the Western consumption style. That is certainly not an option for us when we talk of reforms," he told the newspaper while on a tour of central India, which has reported hundreds of suicides by debt-ridden farmers.

"The challenge for us is how to pursue a growth strategy and prosper and become a modern self-sufficient country even at a per capita income of 1,500 dollars," he said.

India's current annual per capita income is around 700 dollars.

Singh, who is credited with introducing market reforms as finance minister in India in 1991, added: "We need to copy the West in production and raising productivity, and not in consumption.

"When we talk of growth and catching up with the West, we must be aware that, in the end, only a small proportion of the population will enjoy Western standards of living and high consumption," he said.

The Indian economy grew 8.4 percent in the year to March, beating previous estimates of 8.1 percent, but inflation had also picked up, hitting 5.44 percent in the week to June 17, its highest level in 13 months.

Singh's comments come as the Congress-led government tries to deflect criticism from its Communist allies that it has forsaken the poor and instead is focusing too much on selling off state-owned firms and attracting more foreign investment.

While recent reports have said the 15-year-old economic reforms were making millionaires at a record rate, World Bank figures showed about 40 percent of India's billion plus population live on less than a dollar a day.

Singh said huge investments in retail stores, commercial farming and special economic zones were not the right solution to the problems of Indias landless and "marginalised people."