Addressing a press conference in Manila, after taking over as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), he said, India was growing at over 9 per cent.

Pinning hopes on revival of business confidence and strong fundamentals, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee today said, the Indian economy would return to the pre-global crisis growth path in the coming years. Addressing a press conference in Manila, after taking over as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), he said, India was growing at over 9 per cent before the global financial crisis of 2008 pulled down the growth rate to 6.7 per cent in 2008-09.

The country has projected a growth rate of 7.6 per cent in 2012-13, up from 6.9 per cent recorded in the previous fiscal. Mr. Mukherjee said that despite the impact of euro-zone debt crisis on the economy, India has continued to be a front runner in terms of economic growth in the region, which underlines the resilience of the Indian economy. Mukherjee said the crisis had impacted the Indian economy through low growth, weak business sentiment, declining capital inflows and exchange rate and stock market volatility with attendant implication for investor confidence.

The Minister also added that India has remained successful in maintaining external debt at sustainable levels and its banking sector is robust and our regulatory architecture is mostly in place. Earlier, speaking at the closing business session of the 45th annual meeting of the ADB board of governors in Manila, Mr. Mukherjee said, India is very happy to accept the chair. He said, while India was the founding member of the ADB in 1966, its lending operations in India began two decades later. Mr. Mukherjee said, the 25 years of partnership has been an exciting and challenging journey. He said, he was very happy and honoured to Chair of the ADB's Board of Governors.