A former finance minister of India has been appointed a professor at the Warwick Manufacturing Group.

Jaswant Singh is the current leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha, the upper chamber of the Indian parliament.

During his seven stints in the parliament, he has headed six ministries of the Indian government, including finance, defence and external affairs.

He served as Finance Minister until the defeat of the Government of Prime Minister Vajpayee in May 2004, where he was instrumental in pushing thorough market-friendly reforms.

He is known for his moderate political views and is a self styled liberal democrat. He was Outstanding Parliamentarian of the Year in 2001.

He has also headed taskforces on India's software, hardware and infrastructure policies.

Lord Bhattacharyya, director of WMG, said: "He has vast experience in international affairs and has been a key player in the modernisation of the Indian economy.

"The relationship between Britain and India is of huge importance both for the countries concerned and for the Warwick Manufacturing Group; it is a vast market growing at over eight per cent a year.

"We are keen to expand our activities in India and having the knowledge of Jaswant Singh to support us in that task will be a tremendously valuable."