President Patil lauds Reserve Bank's role in promoting economic growth of the country

New Delhi, Jan 16 (ANI): President Pratibha Patil on Saturday applauded the role of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in promoting economic growth of the country and said, the growth rate is expected to be more than seven percent in the coming year.

Releasing the Commemorative Postage Stamp at the Platinum Jubilee Celebrations of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), President Patil said in the 75 years of its existence, the RBI has acted in a highly responsible manner and contributed to providing support to the nation's economy both during critical and relatively normal times.

"Despite a fall in our growth rate initially, we have now returned to close to a 7 percent growth rate, testifying the correctness of our policy stance," said Patil.

President Patil said, "The RBI has stood at the centre of India's financial system. From ensuring stability of interest and exchange rates to providing liquidity; from ensuring bank penetration and safety of depositors' funds to promoting and developing financial institutions and markets, it has played a crucial role in the economy.

"It is also an institution which has had the privilege of having eminent economists as Governors. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself was the Governor of the Reserve Bank from 1982 to 1985, she added.

President Patil further said, "During the economic crisis, the Government of India announced stimulus packages while the Reserve Bank took steps to regulate the liquidity in the system."

"Fiscal policy took care to arrest the domestic demand slowdown and revive it, while the monetary policy was used for providing stimulant to growth impulses. The prudent and carefully calibrated polices adopted by RBI and our well regulated banking sector, were noted by financial experts," Patil added.

President Patil said, "There is a need to speed up development and infrastructure projects in the country and to ensure that bank credit is available to all sectors, sections and units across the scale."

"The priority of the banking system should be to strengthen itself significantly to support a modern, vibrant and inclusive economy. I am confident that the Reserve Bank will provide the appropriate policies and frameworks to achieve this objective," Patil added.

President Patil also conveyed her greetings to the RBI Governor, the directors and the staff. (ANI)