Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg: India Has Potential to Be Largest Economy

India, which is considered as one of the fastest growing economies in the world, saw its growth rate plummeting to less than 5 percent in the last two years.

However, the industry is hopeful of a rebound with a new stable government led by prime minister Narendra Modi, who is widely perceived as a pro-business leader.

Modi had also said recently that there is a need to administer "bitter medicine" to revive the ailing economy.

The International Monetary Fund has projected a growth rate of 6.4 percent next year, in line with the gradual strengthening of global markets.

Reminiscing her association with India, the former management consultant with McKinsey & Company and an economist with the World Bank said she started her career in India in 1981 working with the World Bank on Leprosy.

"And now when I look at leprosy, it's no longer a threat here. The way I see it, India has grown so much in the past two decades," she added. Sandberg said Facebook wants to be a part of the growth story in India, which is on the cusp of leapfrogging ahead in economic as well as social development.

India has the world's third largest Internet userbase with over 200 million users, most of whom are logging onto the web using their mobile phones.

"India is Facebook's second largest market, fastest growing market, fastest growing Internet connectivity in APAC. It is of high priority for us," Sandberg said.

According to research firm eMarketer India, which has the highest number of Facebook users outside the U.S., will account for the fastest growth in people logging on to the social networking platform this year.

Over 100 million Indians are on the California- headquartered firm's platform, with around 84 million users accessing the social networking site from their mobile devices.

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