Pranab Mukherjee lauds India surpassing British economy in GDP

India is currently on the cusp of a major leap towards higher economic growth trajectory, says Prez

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday lauded India's feat of surpassing the Britain's economy by GDP, whose colonial rule in this country was marked by "exploitation and suffering".

"Just a couple of days back we have seen a newspaper headline that the annual income of our colonial masters, Great Britain, is less than that of India", he said at the annual day of the Federation of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTAPCCI) in its centenary year.

Mukherjee likened the development as part of "ups and downs in the lives of individuals, and nations".

It's a matter of satisfaction that for the three consecutive years, Indian investment was the highest (by a foreign country) in the UK, where this country was also the largest employment provider.

Noting the origins of FTAPCCI in 1917, Mukherjee touched upon the country's freedom struggle under Mahatma Gandhi against "British imperial power" during those years, and said, "....History of colonial rule is the history of exploitation and suffering".

He said India is currently on the cusp of a major leap towards higher economic growth trajectory. While many of the major economies of the world are still limping even almost a decade after the 2008 global economic crisis, the Indian economy is moving ahead and growing fast.

He also said some of the programmes initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, like "Digital India, Clean India, Make-in-India are important programmes, fulfillment of which will open new vistas for us".