RBI governor Shaktikanta Das to address media at 10 AM; may announce more liquidity measures

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will address the media at 10 am on 17 April.

This would be the RBI Governor’s second press briefing since the COVID-19 outbreak began in India. In his previous address on March 27, Das had announced a rate cut of 75 basis points.

.@RBI Governor @DasShaktikanta to address the media at 10 am today pic.twitter.com/LVnZYBowAT

— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) April 17, 2020

On 27 March, Das had announced a massive 75 basis points cut in repo rates as a measure to counter the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The reverse repo rate has been cut by 90 basis points to 4 percent. Das said this has been done to make it unattractive for banks to passively deposit funds with the RBI and instead lend it to the productive sectors.

The RBI governor has said that all banking institutions can offer three-month moratorium on all loans for a period of three months. The RBI has also allowed banks to restructure the working capital cycle for companies without worrying that these will have to be classified as NPA.

On 17 April (today), it is expected the Governor may announce further liquidity measures to help the economy. The central bank may also clarify if the three-moratorium applies to non-banking finance companies as well.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, was originally scheduled for 31 March, 1, 3 April 2020, but was advanced in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

After the three-day meeting which ended on 27 March, the RBI reduced the key policy rate by 75 basis points.