Bhubaneswar: To stave off the economic hardships likely to arise out of the Coronavirus lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India today announced broad-based measures including liquidity infusion to the tune of Rs 3.74 lakh crore into the system. Moreover, the Central Bank also announced a three month moratorium on repayment of installments of all term loans outstanding on March 1, 2020. The decision applies to all regional, rural banks, co-operative banks, NBFCs including Housing Finance Companies, informed RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.
A day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released Rs 1.7 lakh crore package for the poor and the vulnerable group to combat the impact of the 21-day coronavirus lockdown, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today cut repo rates by 75 basis points to 4.4%.
Allaying fears in the minds of people following volatility in the markets, Das said that depositors need not worry about their money in banks as 'Indian banks are safe and sound.’
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"In the recent past, COVID-19 related volatility in stock market has impacted share prices of banks as well, resulting in some panic withdrawal of deposits from a few private sector banks. It would be fallacious to link share prices to the safety of deposits. Depositors of commercial banks including private sector banks need not worry about the safety of their funds," said Das.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded the decision made by the RBI and tweeted, "Today RBI has taken giant steps to safeguard our economy from the impact of the #Coronavirus. The announcements will improve liquidity, reduce cost of funds, help middle class and businesses."
Responding to RBI’s policy decisions, FM Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Welcome RBI Governor’s statement-the macroeconomic fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound, and in fact stronger than what they were in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008-09.”
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