H.E. Mr Sachin PILOT Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications & Information Technology I am very happy to be here on this historic occasion of the Plenipotentiary Conference of the ITU. I feel privileged to have been given this opportunity to ad-dress this gathering. On behalf of the Government of India, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Government of Mexico and the Mexican people for their warm hospitality. I would also like to congratulate you, Mr. Chairman on your election. I wish you the very best. India is proud of having played an active role in ITU. We are thankful to the international community for their reposed faith in us, having elected India to successive ITU Councils since 1952. The global economy has fared rather badly in recent times. However, India ducked the worst of the crisis, and grew at a rate of around 6 percent even during the recession. Towards the end of this year, India’s econo-my will be growing at a rate of 8-9 percent. Part of the reason is a 300 million strong middle class with a rap-idly rising purchasing power. India’s telecom sector has been one of the most vibrant sectors of the economy. Even as the total number of subscribers reaches the 700 million mark, we continue to add nearly 16-17 million connections monthly. In urban markets, providers are offering innovative value added services, with the market for 3G in India expected to yield rich dividends for providers in the coming years. Mr. Chairman, Excellencies, Distinguished delegates, While India’s urban tele-density compares with the developed world, rural tele-density too has shown re-markable Secretary General and other ITU officials, progress rising to 27 percent from around 2 percent just five years ago. India is also well on its way to achieving a rural tele-density target of 40 percent Representatives of International Organizations and the Media. 34