Noting that India is the fastest growing economy of the world with potential for further growth, the Lok Sabha Speaker Ms Meira Kumar, however, cautioned that interiors of rural India or a heaving urban slum is a recurring reminder that the high performance of country's economy must be balanced with equity and inclusiveness.

In her inaugural address at the India-Cambridge Summit in New Delhi this morning, Ms Kumar asserted that the litmus test for an egalitarian society is that the fruits of development must reach the disadvantaged and the marginalised.

Referring obliquely to the impasse in Parliament created by the opposition during the recently concluded Monsoon Session, Ms Kumar expressed confidence that eventually the electorate will prevail upon their representatives in Parliament to run it smoothly.

Taking pride in the thriving functional democracy of India, the Lok Sabha Speaker said that only through this system of governance India can achieve the goals of social cohesion and inclusive growth.

Talking of the relevance of Cambridge, Ms Kumar said that for the last 800 years it has constantly excelled as the centre of higher learning with uncompromising standards of education, transforming knowledge to generate ideas for the benefit of the world.

The Human Resources Development Minister Mr. Kapil Sibal, who also addressed the Summit, told All India Radio that the educational institutions have to collaborate across the globe to fight the global challenges in various areas. He said that government is there to see how they are implemented on the ground.

The Cambridge University Vice Chancellor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz said that there has to be an international engagement to face the global challenges. Commending the initiatives taken by India to make this happen, he said everyone has to play a part in combating issues across the borders.