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NEW DELHI: On his last day in office, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee approved foreign direct investment (FDI) proposals worth more than Rs 2,000 crore and spent most part of the afternoon meeting supporters, officials from the ministry and mediapersons, posing for group photographs with visitors.

"I know that not every decision I have taken might have been right. But I have taken those decisions always keeping in mind those simple and poor people I knew from my childhood," Mukherjee said in his parting remarks before a waiting media outside his North Block office. Mukherjee, UPA-2’s nominee for the July 19 presidential election, said, "I stand ready to embark on a new journey. I feel honoured and humbled on my nomination as a candidate to contest the presidential election."

Though the FM had stopped signing files for two weeks ever since his name was nominated as the UPA’s candidate for the president’s post, on Tuesday the finance ministry announced setting up of a monitoring cell for investment tracking of major private sector and PPP projects.

The ministry also approved nine FDI proposals. A major proposal worth Rs 2,000 crore was approved and recommended for consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA). It is mandatory to obtain CCEA approval for any FDI proposal above Rs 1,200 crore.

"I also feel a tinge of sentiment at the thought of leaving behind my life as a political activist, spanning over four decades. I will miss my colleagues in the ministry," an emotional Mukherjee said while addressing mediapersons from a specially created podium outside his office.

Officials and well-wishers lined along the corridors of his office before he left to tender his resignation to the PM. There was a virtual media frenzy outside his office as security personnel gathered in strength and created a rope barrier to control the crowd.

Just before Mukherjee left his chamber, minister of state for finance Namo Narain Meena went to say goodbye to the leader. Finance secretary R S Gujral, economic affairs secretary R Gopalan and chief economic advisor Kaushik Basu were next to greet him in his chamber.

His personal staff and those associated with his office went in a group to greet the veteran leader and Mukherjee posed with them for a group photograph.