Union Finance Minister announces Stimulus to boost Demand in the Economy: Highlights:“Total demand boost due to today’s measures expected to be more than ₹ 1 lakh crore”.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also announced additional capital spending and Rs 12,000 crore, 50-year interest-free loan to states to boost the economy that has been battered by the pandemic and the resulting lockdown.
Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies sets out various developmental and regulatory policy measures to enhance liquidity support for financial markets and other stakeholders; further easing of financial stress caused by COVID-19 disruptions while strengthening credit discipline; improve the flow of credit; deepen digital payments; augment customer safety in cheque payments; and facilitate innovation across the financial sector by leveraging on technology through an Innovation Hub.
The Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies sets out various developmental and regulatory policy measures to improve the functioning of markets and market participants; measures to support exports and imports; efforts to further ease financial stress caused by COVID-19 disruptions by providing relief on debt servicing and improving access to working capital; and steps to ease financial constraints faced by state governments.
In view of the recent release of Macro Economic Data the RBI preponed the need for an off-cycle meeting of the monetary policy committee (MPC) in lieu of the scheduled meeting to be held during June 3 to 5, 2020. The MPC met on 20th, 21st and 22nd May 2020, the MPC reviewed domestic and global developments and their implications for the outlook. MPC voted unanimously for a reduction in the policy repo rate and for maintaining the accommodative stance of monetary policy as long as necessary to revive growth, mitigate the impact of COVID-19, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target. On the quantum of reduction, the MPC voted with a 5-1 majority to reduce the policy rate by 40 basis points from 4.4 per cent to 4.0 per cent. Consequently, the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the Bank rate stand reduced to 4.25% from 4.65%. The reverse repo rate stands reduced to 3.35% from 3.75%.
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.
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”.
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.