MOSCOW, October 31 (RIA Novosti) - India hopes to win the non-permanent Asian seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a top government official has said.

"We expect to be a non-permanent Asian seat in the UNSC when the elections take place in October 2010," said Shashi Tharoor, the minister of state for external affairs.

"We have confirmed our candidature. We are campaigning hard. We are confident of the support from members of the UN General Assembly."

He added that India's chance of getting a seat in the UNSC would not happen overnight, but possibly after institutional reforms that the international organization needs to undergo.

Apart from India, the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan is also in the fray for a slot in the powerful 15-member Security Council.