Speaking at a function to mark the 15th statehood celebrations of Chhattisgarh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said Indian economy was the fastest growing economy in the world.
"The world is facing an economic crisis, and hence, India is also affected. Because of the crisis, prices of oil, petroleum, minerals and metals have fallen and due to this, countries producing these items have been affected," he added.
Jaitley, however, said the fall in petroleum prices had resulted in decline in inflation, effectively mean government spending less on subsidies.
The Finance Minister said the government was pooling back these resources for infrastructure development.
Stating that a mineral producing state like Chhattisgarh has been affected by the economic slowdown, he suggested, "In order to face the challenge in future, the states will have to reduce the dependency on sectors like mineral resources and agriculture and focus on strengthening other sectors to expand the state's economy."
Referring to the drought situation, Chief Minister Raman Singh said his government had decided to supply one quintal of paddy free of cost for sowing to 22 lakh farmers affected by drought during the next season.
Besides, the government will also provide 1,500 units of free power to the farmers.
