has indeed been the story of central banks over the years. 22. with several crisis of global proportion occurring in quick succession in the last few years, central banking theory and practice are undergoing subtle and sometimes significant changes. at the reserve bank of india, our effort has been to pursue proactive and prudent policies so that the indian economy evolves along a sustainable growth path. i am glad that our efforts have yielded positive outcomes. the indian economy has rebounded strongly from the pandemic and is contributing more than 18 per cent to the global growth. inflation is on a declining trajectory. external sector remains resilient with strong buffers. the health of banking and corporate sectors remains strong. fiscal consolidation is under way. 23. as preeminent macro - financial policy institutions, central banks have to keep reinventing themselves in tune with the times. they have to anticipate future risks and undertake suitable pre - emptive measures to avert or mitigate potential risks, if any. i am confident, the central banks will rise to the occasion and lead from the front to safeguard their financial systems and economies from the emerging challenges of the 21st century. thank you. namaskar.

year. after existing in electronic form for three years, the euro finally began to circulate as notes and coins. by all accounts, the transition went extremely smoothly. the european central bank, and the 12 national central banks, deserve a great deal of credit for handling it so well. indeed, the completion of the process has rekindled the debate in canada : if it is advantageous for france and 11 other european countries to form a monetary union with a common currency, would a similar arrangement for canada and the united states also be advantageous? after analyzing the costs and benefits, in my view, a separate, floating currency continues to make the most sense for canada for the foreseeable future. let me take a few minutes to explain why. a floating exchange rate is beneficial for canada, primarily because our production and trade structures are quite different from those of our major trading partner, the united states. let me give you a couple of examples. canada is a net exporter of primary commodities, while the united states is a net importer of commodities. and unlike the united states, canada's auto industry is geared heavily toward exports. we produce two cars for every one that is sold in canada. because of the differences in our economic structures, major changes, such as large swings in relative prices, affect canada and the united states differently. one way or another, the canadian economy must adjust to these changes. a floating exchange rate is important because it helps the economy adjust to economic disturbances, such as fluctuations in world demand for, and prices of, our products. equally importantly, it also facilitates adjustments to changes in savings and investment flows. it is true that the canadian and u. s. economies are becoming more integrated. it is also true that by forming a monetary union, there would be some savings for canadians in terms of the transactions costs of converting currencies and hedging against currency movements. so the question might well be asked : since most of europe has moved to a monetary union with a single currency, what about north america? from a canadian perspective, there are at least three major arguments against monetary union in north america. first, in europe you have single markets for goods, capital and labour. in north america, we do not have a single labour market. second, the structures of the largest economies in the euro zone are more similar than the structures of the canadian and u. s. economies. finally, the euro zone is a collection of 12 countries