'India a role model for balanced growth'

India over the years has emerged as a role model for balanced economic growth for countries across the world, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

"India in some ways is the model for how to produce broad-based economic growth, with a balanced growth in an equitable free market system," Geithner said addressing a meeting of India and American corporate leaders, policy makers and think-tank members at a conference on the 'US-India Economic and Financial Partnership' jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry and Brookings Institute, a Washington-based think-tank.

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On Tuesday, Geithner will lead a high-powered US delegation for discussions on the second India-US Economic and Financial Partnership being held at the Treasury.

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee arrived in Washington on Monday morning leading an Indian delegation to attend what is being billed as the highest level economic meeting between the two countries.

". . . India plays such an important role in the G-20 process, where we are trying to bring major emerging market economies together on things that are good for growth," Geithner said.

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"We work very close together in all the major international economic and financial fora... where India is playing a very important role," said the US treasury secretary, adding that the US and India are looking to build a strategic economic relationship.

"We have identified bunch of areas. We have very productive technical working exchanges underway like debt management, how to build a more effective (anti-) money laundering regime to areas like infrastructure finances," he said.