BENGALURU: Terming former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's death a "great loss" for the nation, JDS supremo H D Deve Gowda on Friday credited him with "saving the country" from an economic crisis and preventing it from falling into a "debt trap".

The former Prime Minister described Singh as a simple, honest, and gentlemanly figure.

Manmohan Singh, the architect of India's economic reforms, passed away in New Delhi on Thursday night at the age of 92.

Manmohan Singh served as the Finance Minister in the Narasimha Rao government in 1991, during one of the most critical economic periods in the country's history. He took on the responsibility and did his utmost to save the nation from the economic crises, Gowda said.

Speaking to reporters, he said otherwise, the country would have fallen into a debt trap. "Such was the severity of the situation. To address this, the Narasimha Rao government with Singh as the Finance Minister made the decision to pledge 130 tonnes of gold."

Singh then introduced economic reforms such as liberalisation, privatisation, and foreign direct investment, Gowda said, adding that all these initiatives were implemented by him as Finance Minister under Prime Minister Narasimha Rao.

Manmohan Singh was a distinguished economist who worked at the World Bank, served as the Reserve Bank Governor, and acted as an advisor to the Government of India. With his vast experience, he went on to serve the nation for ten years as Prime Minister. His death is a great loss to the nation, he added.