India’s flagging economy showed signs of recovery in the first two months of 2012 as industrial output in January grew at its fastest pace in 7 months and car sales hit a record high in February.

Indian officials on Monday sought to reassure the public that Asia’s third-largest economy will soon regain its high-growth momentum.

President Pratibha Patil told parliament that India’s economic fundamentals “remain robust” and the government is confident it will “soon steer the country back to the high growth trajectory of 8 to 9 percent.”

The Indian economy is expected to grow by 6.9 percent in the fiscal year that ends this month — the weakest pace since the 2008 global financial crisis. It had grown by more than 9 percent for several years in the past decade.

On Friday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will present the federal budget, in which he is expected to set a growth target of 7.5 to 8 percent.