New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Friday said that no one can deny the sharp slowdown in India's economy and its disastrous consequences, particularly for farmers, youths and the poor. "There is no one today that can deny the sharp slowdown in India's economy and its disastrous consequences, particularly for farmers, youth and the poor," he said during his address at the National Conclave on Economy here. The economic growth slowed to 4.5 per cent in the July to September quarter from 7.1 per cent in the corresponding period of last year, the government data showed on Friday.

The economy had a weak performance last quarter with the GDP growth rate dropping to 5 per cent. The slowdown in Q2 FY20 was largely due to a sharp dip in the manufacturing sector and agriculture output, said the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in a statement. The former Prime Minister said that it is his belief that mere changes in economic policy alone will not help revive the economy. "We need to change the current climate in our society from one of fear to one of confidence for our economy to start growing robustly again," he said.