RBI announces Rs. 50,000 crore liquidity for COVID-19-related healthcare
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today announced a Rs. 50,000 crore lending program to ramp up coronavirus-related healthcare infrastructure and services until 2022 in view of the catapulting COVID-19 crisis in the country. "The immediate objective is to save human lives and livelihoods," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in an unscheduled speech today. Here are more details on this.
Das said that under the scheme, banks can provide financial support to entities such as vaccine manufacturers, medical facilities, hospitals, and patients. This means that banks can now lend money to COVID-19 patients who need money for treatment. The window for such loans will remain open until March 31, 2022. Das said that banks would create a COVID-19 loan book under the plan.
Providing further relief, Das said no punitive action would be initiated against customers who do not update their KYC till December 31, 2021. "The second wave, though debilitating, is not unsurmountable. As I have said earlier, it is during our darkest moments that we must focus on the light. We have lessons to draw from our experience of last year," the RBI Governor said.
Reportedly, the RBI Governor had on May 3 met with the representatives of NBFC-MFIs and two industry associations - Sa-Dhan and MFIN (Microfinance Institutions Network). RBI Deputy Governors MK Jain and MD Patra and other top officials of the central bank had attended the meet. The microfinance industry had asked for restructuring of borrower loans and liquidity assistance.
People across India are running out of savings and even losing their jobs as a dreadful second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has gripped the country. India has been reporting lakhs of new infections and hundreds of deaths daily for the past few weeks. Subsequently, several states and union territories have announced lockdowns and night curfew measures to contain the spread of the infection.
