IMF brands demonetisation as 'November 2016 currency exchange initiative'

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has analysed the impact of demonetisation on the Indian economy on several occasions, but has avoided using the ‘D’ word. After its executive board concluded the Article IV consultation with India on July 18 this year, IMF said growth slowed to 6.7 per cent in 2017-18 following disruptions related to the “November 2016 currency exchange initiative” and the goods and services tax rollout in July 2017. Last year, a senior IMF official described demonetisation as a “vacuum cleaner” which sucked in cash, withdrawing it from the economy.

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At a press conference on the Rafale