IMF Growth Projection For India Highest Among G20: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das is addressing the media. His address comes at a time when the country has extended a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has disrupted world markets and fuelled fears of recession. This is the second time the RBI Governor is addressing the media since the country began the lockdown on March 25. The RBI has already reduced the repo rate by 75 basis points to a 15-year low of 4.4 per cent - the steepest cut under Shaktikanta Das - and announced a slew of money market measures to support the financial system against the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak. 

Here are the highlights of what the RBI Governor said:

• RBI has been proactively monitoring coronavirus situation very closely
• RBI has been coming out with announcements every second or day
• Macroeconomic, financial situation has deteriorated
• 150 RBI workers in quarantine
• India among handful of G20 countries projected to register positive growth rate
• India projected to have a sharp bounce-back
• Global financial markets remain volatile
• Services PMI contracted on shrinking exports
• RBI continues to take measures to ensure adequate liquidity in system
• Exports contraction more severe compared to global financial markets 
• Targeted long-term repo operations worth Rs 50,000 crore to begin with, in tranches of appropriate sizes to ensure liquidity 
• Auction of targeted long-term repo operations worth Rs 25,000 crore to be conducted today
• Advances under this facility to be charged at RBI's repo rate (4.4%)
• Reverse repo rate reduced by 25 basis points to 3.75% (This is the interest rate at which RBI borrows funds from commercial banks) 
• On April 15, amount observed under reverse repo window Rs 6.9 lakh crore
• Liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) requirement reduced to 80% from 100% (LCR determines the proportion of highly liquid assets held by financial institutions)
• On March 27, RBI granted three-month moratorium to lending institutions
• NPA classification will exclude moratorium period; 90-day NPA norm not to apply on moratorium granted on existing loans by banks