New Delhi | Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday paid tributes to former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao on his birth anniversary, saying India is grateful to him for his "effective leadership" during a crucial phase of its development trajectory.

His intellect, wisdom and scholarly nature are also widely admired, PM Modi said on X.

Rao's premiership during 1991-96 is considered the most defining period in the country's economic journey as, with India facing a serious balance of payment crisis, he unshackled the state control on economy and opened it to private players. This paved the way for a long era of growth better than what was seen in the past.

He was given the country's highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna, posthumously by the Modi government last year.