New Delhi: Reiterating that the India will return to a nine percent growth soon, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday urged the student community to serve at home and not leave the country for greener pastures.

"While abundant opportunities await the graduating students, as you begin your careers, you should also remember that the country needs your services and you should be on the lookout for how best you can work towards furtherance of the interests of the country," Mukherjee said in his convocation address at the Management Development Institute (MDI) in Gurgaon.

"India is well on its way to becoming an economic power to reckon with, and young people like you can play an important role in nation building," he said.

The minister said that "the world economy, including Indian economy, has seen trying times in the last two years" but India has "managed to weather it." He said the country is trying to return to a nine percent growth rate and will strive for a "double-digit growth" soon.

He said that the country is set to increase its Gross Enrolment Ratio (in higher education) from the current 12.4 percent to 30 percent by 2020. Many new educational institutes have come up, but it is not adequate.

He appealed to leading management institutes to join hands to better the higher education sector without compromising in quality education and research.

The minister said the job situation also is becoming better. "Job situation has improved and the opportunity now is wide open," he said, reiterating that 600,000 jobs have been been added during October-December 2009.

Over 550 students graduated from MDI, one of the top 10 management institutes in the country. Mukherjee also awarded certificates to some of the meritorious students at the convocation. IANS