As the tussle for the top job at International Monetary Fund hots up following the resignation of its disgraced former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, India has lashed out at the rich nations, saying they don't "want to give up power easily".

"Those who exercise power, do not want to give up power easily. The struggle for a better, balanced and more equitable world order, including the management of global institutions like the IMF, World Bank, (UN) Security Council is going to be a long haul, I am afraid," Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the media Saturday night.

Though France's Finance Minister has announced her bid for the post of Managing director of IMF, the Indian Prime Minister, who returned following a six-day Africa tour, hoped that a consensus would emerge for the top job at the IMF, which is generally acceptable. He said that "India is in touch with various countries".

However, there is a desire in Europe that a European should occupy the coveted position because very large proportion of IMF funds is in the continent which is dealing with the Euro zone tensions, Singh said.