New Delhi: An economic document, the "Bombay Plan", prepared exactly 60 years ago, had a profound impact on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who later in the early 1990s went on to become the architect of India's financial reforms.

This was revealed by the Prime Minister himself during the inauguration of the centenary celebrations of J R D Tata.

"As a student of economics in 1950s and later as a practitioner in Government, I was greatly impressed by the "Bombay Plan" of 1944 in many ways, it encapsulated what all subsequent Plans have tried to achieve," Singh said.

He said the Plan had laid great emphasis on public investment in social and economic infrastructure, in both rural and urban areas, importance of agrarian reforms and agricultural research, setting up educational institutions and a modern financial system.

Describing it as an unprecedented document of that period, he said, when it was read today (Aug 24, 2004), six decades later, many of its central propositions still remained relevant.

"Above all, it defined the framework for India's transition from agrarian feudalism to industrial capitalism, but capitalism that is humane and invests in welfare and skills of working people", he said.

He recalled that JRD had played an important role in the conceptualisation of the document along with G D Birla, Purushottamdas Thakurdas, Ardeshir Dalal and John Mathai.

It is worthy of emphasis that nowhere in the developing world had a group of businessmen come together to draw up such a long-term plan for a country, he added.