Former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, who is undergoing treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi following minor heart complications, was on Monday discharged from the hospital for a few hours to celebrate his 84th birthday.

"As per the request of Rao's family members to celebrate his birthday at their residence, we discharged him at 8am. He would return to the hospital at 2pm," AIIMS director P Venugopal said.

Earlier, Venugopal and other AIIMS staff extended their greetings to Rao.

On the former prime minister's health conditions, Venugopal said, "He is fine and spends most of his time reading newspapers and books, besides working on his laptop."

Rao had been admitted to the hospital on June 16 following loss of appetite. He was later shifted to the cardio ward. Two days back, he had developed some chest infection.

He has been advised bed-rest for a few more days.