Mumbai, Jun 12 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday dismissed concerns about an economic slowdown, saying India continues to record the highest growth rate in the world despite repeated predictions of a recession.

Addressing a press conference marking 12 years of the Narendra Modi government, Fadnavis said those forecasting a downturn had been proved wrong by India's economic performance.

"People kept talking about recession, recession, recession. But the economic growth rate in the current year is the highest in the world. India remains the fastest-developing economy," he said.

India's GDP stayed robust in the January-March quarter with 7.8 per cent growth, while the FY26 expansion was at a healthy 7.7 per cent.

Fadnavis noted India has emerged as the world's fourth-largest economy and crossed the USD 4.5 trillion mark, putting it firmly on course to become a USD 5 trillion economy.

"People were saying there is a recession. But India still has the highest growth rate in the world and remains the fastest-growing economy," he insisted.

Highlighting the country's external position, the chief minister said India today possessed foreign exchange reserves of around Rs 66 lakh crore, enough to cover 11 months of imports.

Recalling the economic situation in earlier years, he said there was a time when concerns were raised about India's ability to repay foreign debt.

"There was a period when people used to say that unless the IMF and World Bank came to India's rescue, the country would collapse because it did not have enough money to repay its foreign debt," he said.

Contrasting that period with the present, Fadnavis, who is also Maharashtra's finance minister, said, "Today, if required, India has the capacity to repay 94 per cent of its foreign debt in a single day." The BJP leader maintained that unlike earlier periods when the country sometimes lacked enough foreign exchange reserves to cover even a month's imports, India now had reserves sufficient to finance imports for nearly 11 months.

Fadnavis further said India had become a global leader in digital transactions, with annual digital payments touching Rs 314 lakh crore and the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) being adopted by nearly 30 countries.

"The world spoke of recession, but India's economy has continued to expand and remains the fastest-growing among major economies," he noted. PTI MR RSY

Economic resilience and strong growth keep India ahead of recession forecasts amid robust GDP and reserves. India's economic performance was described as resilient despite recession forecasts, with the current growth rate stated to be the highest in the world. GDP growth was reported at 7.8 per cent in the January-March quarter and FY26 expansion at 7.7 per cent, while India was said to have become the world's fourth-largest economy and to be moving towards a USD 5 trillion economy. The account also highlighted large foreign exchange reserves, claimed debt-repayment capacity, and strong digital payment adoption through UPI.