Another booster of RBI, Repo rate reduced to 4%, EMI Moratorium further increased

Posted on 22nd May 2020 by rohit kumar

new Delhi

Giving yet another booster to the coronavirus battered economy, the central bank RBI has announced further reductions in the repo rate. The repo rate has been cut by 40 bps, after which the new rate has been reduced to 4% and the EMI Moratorium has been extended three months further. This is the third time since Corona's lockdown that the RBI announced reliefs in view of the moaning economy. Firstly on 27 March and then on 17 April, the RBI announced a variety of reliefs, in which big announcements like EMI Moratorium were made.

 

What is the repo rate? : When we need money and our bank account is empty, then we take a loan from the bank. In return, we pay interest to the bank. Similarly, the bank also needs a lot of money for its needs or for its day-to-day operations. Banks borrow from the Reserve Bank of India for this. The rate of interest that banks pay to the Reserve Bank on this loan is called repo rate.

Impact of the repo rate on you: When the bank gets a loan from the Reserve Bank at a lower rate of interest, then their fund raising cost will be reduced. Because of this, they can give cheaper loans to their customers. This means that the interest rates on your home, car or personal loan can be reduced if the repo rate is low.

 

EMI Moratorium increased for 3 months

The Moratorium, which took place on 27 March, has now been extended for 3 months. All relief given for three months has been extended for another three months. That is, Moratorium has been extended from June 1 to August 31, you have got the option to postpone the loan installment for another three months.

 

In addition, additional flexibility was announced to SIDBI. For 90 days term loan, further extension of 90 days ie 3 months has been given. This will provide additional support to MSME sector.

 

GDP will remain negative

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das expressed concern about GDP and said that growth could remain in negative territory in FY 2020-21. He said that the biggest shock has been the private congestion. Consumer durables production declined by 33% in March 2020. Merchandise exports have reached the worst level in 30 years.

 

Boost import-export

The RBI made several announcements to boost import-export. Permissible period of export credit for preshipment and post shipment was increased from 1 year to 15 months. Allocation of 15000 Crore rupees to EXIM bank for US dollar swap facility.

 

Center gave self-sufficient India package

To deal with the damage caused to the economy due to Corona crisis and lockdown in the country, the Modi government had announced an economic package of around 20 lakh crores, which was named Self-Reliant India Package. This was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his address to the country on 12 May. After this, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a detailed press conference for five consecutive days and measures taken for various sectors of the economy. In this, an arrangement of Rs 3 lakh crore was made for easy loan to MSMEs without guarantee.

 

Many reliefs were given on 17 April

Earlier on 17 April, the RBI announced a series of reliefs to support the economy affected by the Corona crisis and lockdown. The reverse repo rate was cut by 25 basis points, reducing it from 4 per cent to 3.75 per cent. This will not hurt banks in getting loans. The central bank announced TLTRO 2.0 to help small and medium-sized companies overcome the cash crisis. It was started with 50 thousand crore rupees. It was also said to increase it later in view of the situation. Half of the total amount was given to small and medium companies, MFIs and NBFCs under TLTRO 2.0.

 

Moratorium on EMI was given in March

Earlier in March also, the RBI allowed banks and financial institutions to postpone the term loan installment due to corona for three months. Due to Corona, the monetary policy review was submitted ahead of schedule. The RBI governor said that banks are being allowed to postpone EMI recovery of customers for three months in case of term loans. Banks will be allowed to keep it in the NPA account for non-repayment of loan.

 

Earlier, Satish Kashinath Marathe, a director of the central bank and associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, questioned the Modi government's relief package. He had said that three months moratorium is not enough and softening of NPA should have been part of the relief package.