<b>Chinese whispers: </b>In denial mode

While economists & traders continue to point out negative effects of note ban, govt keeps denying it

While Opposition parties, economists and traders continue to point out the negative effects of demonetisation, the government at the Centre keeps denying them. On Thursday, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman raised that stance to another level. At a gathering of state government representatives in Delhi to discuss trade issues, Sitharaman was asked — yet again — whether her ministry had assessed the loss suffered by industry. She smiled and said, “Nahi kiya [no, (we) haven’t]” before moving on to the next question.