Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, on Thursday assured that India would not suffer extensively from the ravages of the global economic meltdown.

In a statement, read out by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, Singh, who is recuperating from a cardiac bypass surgery, said," Today we are addressing the global downturn with the same resolve and imagination. Let me assure this House, that India would emerge the least affected among the countries of the world from the current economic crisis."

"It also witnessed some very challenging times when the global rise in oil prices led to a spiral of price rise in commodities, resulting in higher inflation which we brought under control through prudent economic policies," he added.

He further said that the Congress has steered the country's foreign policy in the manner that has succeeded in ending its nuclear isolation and creating unprecedented global opportunities for it. (ANI)