NEW YORK: In an informative exchange during a working luncheon with Dr. Rakesh Mohan, Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, at the Indian Consulate in New York recently, participants got an overview of the Indian economy.

The luncheon hosted by Consul General Neelam Deo had 22 selected invitees from institutions engaged in banking and financial services, investors and representatives from academia, who appreciated the quality time spent with a policy maker from India.The event was co-hosted by the State Bank of India, New York. At the outset, Dr. Rakesh Mohan briefly shared the conclusions of the first quarter review of the Indian economy done by the Reserve Bank of India.

Latest estimates released by the Central Statistical Organization in May 2007 revised real GDP growth upwards to 9.4% during 2006-07. The expectations on the growth rate in 2007-08 range between 7.6% (ABN Amro) and 9% (International Monetary Fund). Data on select non-Government non-financial companies revealed a growth in sales of 26% during 2006-07 vis a vis 17% during 2005-06. In the same period, gross profits grew by 45% and net profits increased by 45%. Buoyed by a sustained momentum of both the services and the manufacturing sectors, comfortable savings rate of 36 to 37% and a controlled inflation of under 5%, India can hope to grow at the rate of 8 to 8.5% in 2007-08.

Dr. Rakesh Mohan also addressed questions from the participants which covered many subjects including inflation, fiscal deficit, increasing savings and investment rates, challenges of the infra-structure and participation of private sector in the process of infra-structure building; strengthening of the Indian Rupee vis a vis other foreign currencies including the dollar, utilization of the growing Foreign Exchange Reserves now estimated at US$ 212 Billion, convertibility of the Indian Rupee, and inclusive growth to address the disparity between regions and sections of the population.