Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das will hold a meeting with bank chiefs on Saturday to review the financial sector and discuss measures needed to be taken to strengthen the industry amid novel coronavirus crisis.
The apex bank will discuss several steps taken by it to revive the economy such as moderation in interest rates, their transmission to end-consumers, and liquidity infusion measures taken to support the industry. Apart from reviewing the steps to revive the economy and industry, facilities provided to the MSME industry and rural sector shall also be evaluated in Saturday's meeting. Bank chiefs shall also be asked for their suggestions on the steps that need to be taken to revive the economy, PTI reported.
The RBI has taken several steps to assuage the pressure faced by borrowers, lenders, and other entities such as mutual funds and assured to take more measures to deal with the developing situation. Since the February 2020 monetary policy meeting, the central bank has injected 3.2 per cent of GDP into the economy to tackle the liquidity crisis.
Saturday's meeting is important because it comes days after the Supreme Court (SC) had directed the RBI to ensure that its March 27 guidelines directing lending institutions to grant a three-month moratorium to all borrowers were followed in letter and spirit.
Meanwhile, the central government announced the extension of lockdown by 2 more weeks beginning from May 4, 2020, on Friday but with several relaxations in the green zones or the areas that have nil COVID-19 cases. The Ministry of Home Affairs also issued guidelines to regulate select activities based on the risk profiling of districts into red, orange, and green zones.
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