Mumbai, Jun 12 (PTI) India has the capacity to repay 94 per cent of its foreign debt in a single day, said Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday.

He 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.

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." 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.

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 growth and external resilience define India's expanding macroeconomic strength, despite recession concerns and debt repayment fears. India's macroeconomic position is described as having strengthened through robust growth, high foreign exchange reserves and expanding external resilience. The text states that concerns about recession were dismissed on the basis that India continued to record the highest growth rate among major economies, with GDP growth remaining strong in the latest quarter and the fiscal year. It also notes that India had become the world's fourth-largest economy and was on course toward a USD 5 trillion economy. The article further highlights external sector stability by stating that India's foreign exchange reserves were sufficient to cover nearly 11 months of imports and that the country had the capacity, if required, to repay 94 per cent of its foreign debt in a single day.