RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced liquidity support measures on Wednesday in the wake of an increase in Covid-19 cases in India. The second wave of COVID-19 in India, according to RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, has dramatically changed the economic situation. He also said that the RBI would continue to track the situation with all available resources. The inflation curve in India had flattened, but the situation had changed.
He also said that the RBI's quarantine facility is still operational, with over 200 officers working away from their homes. He declared that the second G-SEC purchase under G-SAP 1.0, for Rs 35,000 crore, will take place on May 20, 2021.
He announced a Rs 50,000 crore on-tap liquidity window with a term of up to three years at repo rate, which will be open until March 31, 2022. The RBI also announced a targeted long-term repo operation of up to Rs 10,000 crore for small finance banks (SFBs). This will be used to provide loans of up to Rs 10 lakh to each borrower. We must reflect on the light during the darkest hours, according to Das.
“We have lessons to draw from our experience of last year when as a nation we came together and overcame the once in a generation challenge imposed by the first wave of the pandemic,” Das said. “Our faith should be like an ever-burning lamp which not only gives us light, but also illuminates the surroundings,” Das concluded.