? while it is quite evident that inclusive growth is imperative for achieving the equity objective, what is, perhaps, not so obvious is, why inclusive growth is now considered essential even to sustain the growth momentum. first, in many of the emerging market economies, the major chunk of population is based in rural areas. significant increase in demand for manufacturing and services sectors has to come from the rural population. the average monthly per capita consumption expenditure ( mpce ) in urban areas in india is almost double that of rural areas. in some states, the disparities are even more glaring. therefore, it is important to ensure that growth takes place in agriculture, allied sectors as also in secondary and services sectors in rural areas, and amongst urban poor to provide a growing market for the goods and services produced by the expanding corporate sector. second, from supply - side management, growth in agriculture is necessary in order to keep manufacturing prices under check, provide food security and keep inflation under control. price stability is not merely important as an anti poverty measure but also as an instrument to ensure stable and sustained growth. third, higher growth in agriculture and rural areas coupled with demographic dividend ( i. e. growing proportion of population in the working age group of 15 - 65 ) will lead to a rise in the savings level for financing the increasing level of investments necessary to sustain the overall growth momentum. fourth, the limitations on increasing production and productivity in agriculture are driving migration to urban areas leading to population pressure in urban areas and increase in urban poor. infrastructure in urban areas needs considerable investment to handle the migration – this requires significant investment in housing, water, sanitation, lighting and power, waste management, education, health facilities, and other infrastructure. hence, urban development policies have to focus on inclusive investment to deal with the huge armies of low - income population likely to move into these areas. fifth, since in many countries such as india, the growth process is knowledge - based and services - led, the requirement of skilled labour is quite substantial in comparison to the present availability. in order to ensure adequate supply of skilled labour force, huge social sector investment is required covering the vast majority of people who may not be able to afford such education and skill development. sixth, whenever we talk of the majority population living in rural areas, it is often identified with the agriculture sector. however, it is the unorganised non - farm sector that is increasingly absorbing most of the labour force. this sector has huge potential for growth once there

which consists of market participants, experts and regulators. we have also had the benefit of an array of expert views, including those of the ministry of finance which were indeed valuable in giving final contours to the framework. the operational aspects were commendably dealt with by the rbi - sebi standing technical committee and i must highlight the exemplary inter - regulatory coordinative approach that has been the hallmark of the entire process. a similar approach is now being adopted in respect of interest rate futures as well and we may see a fruition of efforts in this regard in a short time. in this regard, i express deep appreciation of the contribution made by sebi, and in particularly the chairman, in bringing this to fruition. i congratulate nse for putting in place the platform in a short time and ensuring a sizeable number of members at the initial start itself. i believe the currency futures market will seamlessly complement the existing otc market. as you may be aware, in all countries, including developed markets, otc segment dominates foreign exchange transactions. the introduction of currency futures, i am sure, will provide further depth and breadth to the market and fulfill their intended objective as an effective risk management instrument. i would also like to take this opportunity to urge all the market participants to leverage this significant milestone for skill development within as well as at a broader industry level. on behalf of rbi, i would like to assure our continued commitment to orderly and well thought out development of financial markets, while maintaining financial stability and integrity.