PM hopes India will achieve 7 pc growth in 2009

Chennai, Jan 8 (PTI) Stressing that the fundamentals of
the Indian economy remain strong despite the global economic
downturn, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said
the country expects to achieve a growth rate of about 7 per
cent this year, which will be among the highest in the world.

"We expect to achieve a growth rate of about seven per
cent this year, which will be among the highest in the world.
Much of India's growth is internally driven and I expect we
can maintain a strong pace of growth in the coming years," he
said, while inaugurating the seventh edition of Pravasi
Bhartiya Divas (an annual congregation of Indian diaspora)
here.

The Prime Minister also said that India is actively
involved in the meetings of the G-20 countries, which are
deliberating on creating a new global financial structure.

"We need to ensure that any new architecture that emerges
is suited to the new challenges and vulnerabilities facing the
world economy and simultaneously it must be reflective of the
changes that have taken place in the economic structure over
the years. Countries like India have a right to be given their
due place in the evolving scheme of things," Singh said.

The Prime Minister said India's rise is increasingly
being regarded as an important dimension of the emerging
international world order and "our counsels on key global
challenges are not just being heard, but are being actively
sought".

"And in this enterprise of changing the image of India,
the overseas Indian community has played a magnificent role
and I thank you for that," he said.

The Prime Minister announced that all OIC (Overseas
Indian Citizenship) card-holders who are qualified
professionals -- doctors, dentists, pharmacists, engineers,
architects, and chartered accountants -- will be able to
practise in India.

"Further details to operationalise this benefit are
being worked out. The Overseas Indian Citizenship Scheme,
which we had announced in 2006, has elicited an overwhelming
response," he said.

Singh also launched an initiative called "The Global
Indian Knowledge Network", which will connect people of Indian
origin from a variety of disciplines with users at the
national, state and local levels in India.

"My hope is that the Network will facilitate transfer of
knowledge and serve as a 'virtual think tank' to generate new
ideas on issues such as development, education and
health-care," he said. PTI