NEW DELHI: India’s economy grew at its slowest pace in over six years in the June quarter following a sharp deceleration in consumer demand and tepid investment. The government has already announced a series of measures in the past week as part of its efforts to put growth back on track. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 5% in the first quarter of FY20, data released by the government showed, marking the slowest growth since the fourth quarter of FY13. GDP growth was 8% in the year-earlier quarter and 5.8% in the preceding one.China’s economy grew 6.2% in the June quarter.Nominal GDP growth, a measure of GDP without adjusting for inflation, rose just 8%, the least in the current series of national accounts going back to FY12, indicating a deep slowdown. Comparing across different series, it could be the lowest since FY03, economists said.Consumption, the bedrock of growth in the past few years, collapsed to an 18-quarter low of 3.1% from 10.6% in the March quarter, pointing to fragile sentiment. Investments grew 4%, up from 3.6% in the previous quarter.The slowdown in investment and consumer demand derailed manufacturing, which grew just 0.6%. A meagre 2% rise in farm sector added to the demand slowdown.“Government is taking steps. We should be back to the high growth path soon,” chief economic adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian said, adding green shoots were visible, pointing to high growth in electricity.In the past week, the government has announced a package of measures such as liberalising FDI for select sectors, ensuring flow of credit to non-banks, rollback of a controversial tax surcharge on foreign portfolio investors, more capital for banks and a big-bang bank consolidation.Independent experts, however, expect the slowdown to persist for a while and see another rate cut by the central bank in October after the 110 percentage points slashed in this round of monetary easing.“There is no quick fix solution to the downturn which has been in the making for the past few years,” said India Ratings chief economist DK Pant, adding that both cyclical and structural factors were at play, pointing to the decline in savings.In its annual report released on Thursday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had said that the slowdown was cyclical, rather than structural, which would have required deeper reforms.“What you need is something to stimulate the economy. More interest rate cuts probably will be required,” said Crisil chief economist DK Joshi. Although the steps that the government has taken recently will help, major reforms are still needed, he said.Bibek Debroy, chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the PM, stressed that those who seek to spread a message of gloom and doom are doing a great disservice. “The EAC-PM does not endorse such views. While constructive criticism and suggestions are welcome, a message of despair and hand-wringing is best avoided,” a statement from the council said.Automobile sales, a barometer of the economy, have declined sharply in recent months, forcing production cuts and jobs losses. The government has offered incentives on auto purchases to help revive demand. Weak global economy and trade tensions have kept export growth muted.IDFC First Bank chief economist Indranil Pan said, “To get out of the sentiment deficit is to a certain extent difficult.”“Regardless of the monetary easing and the measures announced so far by the government to support the economy, some of the constraints to economic growth , including the moderate capacity utilisation levels, cost of land acquisition, and weak outlook for farm incomes, would persist,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist, ICRA, penciling in growth of sub 6.5% in the current year.