Hindustan Times : Aug 06, 2020, 12:49 PM
New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das is making key policy announcement on Thursday during the bi-monthly monetary policy address.Here are the highlights:- Priority sector lending status extended to start-ups- Loans against gold enhanced to 90% of the value from current 75% to mitigate Covid-19 impact on households-With Covid-19 continuing to affect economy, stressed MSME borrowers to be eligible for restructuring of debt if their accounts were classified standard- RBI allows lenders to provide window to restructure loans of corporate, individual borrowers to ease Covid-19 impact, says Governor Das- Rs 10,000 cr additional liquidity facility to be provided by NHB, NABARD- In India, economic activity had started to recover, but surges of fresh infections have forced fresh lockdowns, hence several high-frequency indicators have levelled off- Real GDP growth to remain in negative zone in 1st half and in full fiscal- India’s economic growth to contract in first half of fiscal beginning April 2020- Supply chain disruptions persist; inflation pressures evident across segments- Headline inflation likely to remain elevated in Q2 but likely to ease in second half: RBI governor- Economic activity had started to recover, but surge in infection has forced imposition of lockdowns,- Global economic activity has remained fragile; surge in Covid-19 cases has subdued early signs of revival, says RBI Governor- RBI to maintain accommodative stance- Reserve Bank of India keeps interest rates unchanged at bimonthly monetary policy review- Reverse repo rate also remains unchanged at 3.3%: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das- RBI keeps repo rate unchanged at 4%.