Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the third tranche of the economic package for agriculture and allied sectors such as fisheries, dairy and animal husbandry. FM in her second press conference further unveiled details of the Rs 20 lakh crore economic package to help the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan (India’s self-reliant campaign). She said the new initiatives focus on migrant workers, street vendors, small traders, the self-employed and small farmers.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday announced credit guaranteed loans to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), expected to help about 4.5 million units to get back to business. Announcing the details of the ₹20 trillion fiscal stimulus package, Sitharaman said the collateral free, automatic loans will benefit MSMEs with up to ₹25 crore outstanding loans and ₹100 crore sales.
In an hour-long interview to Cogencis, Das said even though there is an animated discussion on the subject of the central bank monetising the government’s budget deficit amidst the ongoing fight against COVID-19 pandemic, he has not taken a view on the issue.
RBI Governor meets MD & CEOs of Public and Private Sector Banks, NBFCs & Mutual Funds to review theCurrent Economic condition, over Video Conference. Credit flows to different sectors of the economy, including liquidity to Non-Banking Financial Companies, Micro Finance Institutions, Housing Finance Companies, Mutual Funds, etc.;Post lockdown strategies for supply of credit, including working capital, to MSMEs, traders and bottom of pyramid customers in semi-urban, rural and urban areas; Impact of measures taken by the Reserve Bank with regard to the provision of liquidity etc.
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.
This is an unconventional monetary policy tool. It involves printing money and distributing it to the public. Milton Friedman coined this term. It basically denotes a helicopter dropping money from the sky. Friedman used the term to signify “unexpectedly dumping money onto a struggling economy with the intention to shock it out of a deep slump”.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced further measures, including extending the time for realisation and repatriation of proceeds for exports made up to or on July 31, 2020 to 15 months from the date of export against nine months earlier, while upping the temporary accommodation it provides to States and Union Territories to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. The central bank also said it is not activating the counter cyclical capital buffer for banks.
Things are moving fast with the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. On March 12 WHO declared that the virus is now a pandemic and President Trump announced 30 day ban on all travel from EU to the US. If the virus spread continues the Analysts fear that the Global Economy may slip into recession. If the Economy slips into recession it will slip for two consecutive quarters i.e. six months period. The Supply chains are affected. Various sectors such as Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Service, Transportation, Tourism, Hospitality industry etc will badly impacted. Digital Banking and Online Shopping will increase.
RBI has issued directions to all the financing agencies including all Banks, Financial Institutions, NBFC’s & Cooperative Banks etc under COVIC-19 Regulatory Package.
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.