On April 17th 2020 RBI Governor Shri Shakti Kanta Das announced the second series of measures to give boost to ailing economy by providing relief to various sectors and financial institutions including NBFC. The measures were aimed to (i) maintain adequate liquidity in the system and its constituents in the face of COVID-19 related dislocations; (ii) facilitate and incentivise bank credit flows; (iii) ease financial stress; and (iv) enable the normal functioning of markets.
RBI released the statement on Development and Regulatory Policies alongwith the 7th Bi-Monthly Policy review on 27th March 2020.This Statement sets out various developmental and regulatory policies that directly address the stress in financial conditions caused by COVID-19. They consist of: (i) expanding liquidity in the system sizeably to ensure that financial markets and institutions are able to function normally in the face of COVID-related dislocations; (ii) reinforcing monetary transmission so that bank credit flows on easier terms are sustained to those who have been affected by the pandemic; (iii) easing financial stress caused by COVID-19 disruptions by relaxing repayment pressures and improving access to working capital; and (iv) improving the functioning of markets in view of the high volatility experienced with the onset and spread of the pandemic. The policy initiatives in this section should be read in conjunction with the MPC’s decision on monetary policy actions and stance in its resolution.
A day after Modi govt began its economy rescue in right earnest with a Rs 1.70 lakh crore coronavirus counter, the Reserve Bank of India joined the big fight today with a host of measures aimed at minimising the damage from Covid-19.
These measures come just hours after Moody’s Investors Service cut India’s growth forecasts for 2020 calendar year to 2.5% from 5.3%. The MPC decided by 4-2 majority to reduce repo rate by 75 basis points to 4.4 per cent. The reverse repo rate was cut by 90 bps to 4 per cent, creating an asymmetrical corridor.
The government has asked banks to come up with repo-linked loan products for faster transmission of Reserve Bank’s rate cuts to borrowers.