The singer and songwriter will play in the southern city of Bangalore, in Karnataka state.

Bangalore was chosen to host the concert over India's film and entertainment capital Bombay, because Bombay has a 50% entertainment tax and a 2200 curfew for live performances.

Bangalore does not have Bombay's early curfew

The show will take place at Bangalore's Palace Gardens, which has a capacity of about 30,000.

The event is being sponsored by the drinks company UB Group, whose chairman Vijay Mallya said the event would be a useful marketing tool for the company.

"The Elton John show will give our brand a more international and contemporary image," he said.

In 1979 Sir Elton was the first Western rock star to play a concert in Moscow, then capital of the Soviet Union.

Sir Elton performed at London's Somerset House in July to an exclusive audience of millionaires and celebrities to raise money for the charity Absolute Return For Kids (ARK).

The 45-minute show is believed to have raised some £3m.

Days earlier he returned to the Royal Academy of Music in London to pick up a doctorate.

He had attended the school on a scholarship as a child - but dropped out without sitting his exams.