Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said that Indian economy was the fastest growing economy in the world.<br/><br/>Speaking at a function to mark the 15th statehood celebrations of Chhattisgarh in Raipur, he said the world is facing an economic crisis and India is also affected. He said because of the crisis, prices of oil, petroleum, minerals and metals have fallen and due to this, countries producing these items have been affected.<br/><br/>However, Jaitley said the fall in petroleum prices has resulted in decline in rate of inflation, effectively mean government spending less on subsidies. Finance Minister said that the government is pooling back these resources for infrastructure development.<br/><br/>The union minister said a mineral producing state like Chhattisgarh has been affected by the economic slowdown. He said 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.<br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, chief minister Raman Singh referred to the drought situation said that his government has 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 1500 units of free power to the farmers. State governor Balramjidas Tandon presided over the function. <br/><br/>