Grim store sales cast shadow ahead of India's festival of lights

New Delhi

THIS close to India's glittering festive season, the cash register at Neha Tandon's clothes store should be working overtime as revellers snap up elegant sarees for Diwali celebrations and lavish wedding parties.

But the traditional spending sprees have not transpired this festival season, the first since a sudden recall of India's high-value banknotes sent shock waves through Asia's third-largest economy.