The former Indian Prime Minister was mourned at a state funeral

India mourned one of its longest-serving prime ministers, Manmohan Singh, at a state funeral in Delhi.

Singh led the country from 2004 to 2014 and was considered the architect of India's economic liberalization. He died on Thursday at the age of 92.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the ceremony on Saturday. Singh has been described as one of the country's “most prominent leaders”.

Mourners across the capital came out to pay their respects as Singh's coffin, flanked by a guard of honour, was carried across the city to the cremation grounds.

His eldest daughter lit his funeral pyre at the crematorium in front of Modi, President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankar and senior members of Singh's Congress party.

The ceremony was also attended by prominent foreign dignitaries such as King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk and Mauritian Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramphoel.

Singh received full official decorations in a ceremony that included a 21-gun salute.

After his death on Thursday evening, the government declared seven days of national mourning.

Paying tributes shortly after his death, Modi said that Singh's “wisdom and humility were always evident” during their interactions, and that he had “made extensive efforts to improve people's lives” as Prime Minister.

Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was also present at the funeral, said he had lost a “guide and mentor”.

Among the foreign tributes, US President Joe Biden said that the “unprecedented level of cooperation” between his country and India would not have been possible without Singh’s “strategic vision and political courage.”

“He was a true statesman. A dedicated public servant. Above all, he was a kind and humble person,” Biden said in a statement.

Singh changed the course of India's economic growth during his stint as the country's Prime Minister and Finance Minister in 1991.

He is reported to have said in his first budget speech: “No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come.”

He continued to build on his economic reform measures as Prime Minister, lifting millions out of poverty and contributing to India's rise as one of the world's fastest-growing major economies.

Singh was the first Sikh to hold India's highest office, and he formally apologized in 2005 for the 1984 riots in which about 3,000 Sikhs were killed.

He was also the first Indian leader after Jawaharlal Nehru, who led the country from 1947 until his death in 1964, to be re-elected after serving a full first term.

But Singh's second term in office was marred by a series of corruption allegations.

Many say the scandals were partly responsible for the Congress Party's crushing defeat in the 2014 general elections.