Days after the Agriculture Ministry reportedly concluded that the overnight notes ban in November 2016 led to a cash crunch and hurt millions of farmers across the country, it has now come up with a new assessment that says exactly the opposite. In a revised background note to the Standing Committee on Finance, the ministry said demonetisation was beneficial for the farm sector and blamed the earlier confusion over "mistake in compilation of data", people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The ministry's new note says the shock treatment by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government, in fact, boosted the sale of seeds and fertilisers and expanded the area of crops sown during the 2016 Rabi or winter crop season.
