Participants of Reunion of Owner/President Management Programme (OPM 39) of Harvard Business School called on the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee yesterday (February 23, 2014).

Welcoming participants at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President complimented the India Research Centre of the Harvard Business School launched in Mumbai in 2006 which has till date collaborated with business leaders and educators in India on over 55 research projects.

The President said growth that is faster, more inclusive and sustainable is an impending reality for India. As the number of middle-class consumers continues to swell, the market is likely to become more attractive for global business. India’s economic fundamentals as well as growth story remains intact.

The President said India’s macro-fundamentals remains strong as evidenced by the fact that the overall public-debt to GDP ratio has consistently declined from 85.9 per cent of GDP in 2003-04 to 66 per cent in 2012-13. India’s external debt is only 21.2 per cent of GDP. Its foreign exchange reserves at over 292 billion US dollars provide sufficient insulation from any short-term discrepancy in the external sector. As its current account deficit is expected to reduce to 3.7 per cent in 2013-14, and further down to about 2.5 per cent, the external sector will only strengthen in the near future.