Demonetisation ‘biggest scam of 2016’: Chidambaram

Terming demonetisation as the "biggest scam of 2016", former Finance Minister P Chidambaram has said the country is likely to grow by 6-6.5 per cent in 2016-17, much lower than what have been predicted by the CSO and RBI, due to the impact of note ban. Notably, the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) has predicted a growth rate of 7.1 per cent and RBI pegs it at 6.9 per cent for financial year 2016-17. "I am sorry to make the prediction that 2016-17 will end with growth (rate) between 6 and 6.5 per cent, a good one per cent down from the earlier estimate and that means a hit of Rs 1.5 lakh crore on GDP.