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Washington: India has asked the world's rich countries to take measures quickly to cool down volatile financial markets, while apprehending uncertainty in 2008 with turbulence spreading from its epicentre in the US to Europe.

"We urge the advanced economies to take appropriate measures to restore full normalcy in financial markets," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at a joint meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund here.

He said downside risks had increased due to spreading of turbulence in financial markets. The risks continue to unfold and the prospects for 2008 are somewhat uncertain.

Last week, Chidambaram had said that developed countries had injected a considerable amount of liquidity into their markets to overcome their own problems, part of which had spilled over into India and some other countries.

Referring to the spurt in global food and crude oil prices, he said global imbalances, supply-side inflationary pressures and protectionism continue to pose risks to growth.

Chidambaram's plea found an echo in IMF Managing Director Rodrigo Rato's warning that an "earthquake" in credit markets sparked by rising defaults in the US mortgage market could tip the global economy into recession, ending a five-year boom.

Pointing out that China and India continue to remain the engines of global growth, he said the world GDP growth was projected to cross five per cent this year. But supply-side inflationary pressures and protectionism continue to pose risks to growth, he said.