New Delhi: Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday announced immediate liquidity of ₹50,000 crore for a tenure of three years for banks to be able to extend Covid loans for all healthcare entities. This move is aimed at easing access to emergency healthcare services. “To boost the provision of immediate liquidity for ramping up immediate covid-related infrastructure and services in the country, an on-tap liquidity window of ₹50,000 crore at the repo rate is being opened for March 31, 2022,” Das said.
Under this scheme, banks can provide fresh lending support to a wide-ranging of entities including vaccine manufacturers, importers and suppliers of vaccines and priority medical devices, hospitals and dispensaries, pathology labs, manufacturers and suppliers of oxygen and ventilators, and also patients for treatment, the governor said.
Reiterating the RBI’s commitment to take swift-footed and calibrated measures to cushion the impact of the second wave of the pandemic, Das said the RBI will continue to monitor the situation and deploy resources. The Covid-19 situation has reversed from being on the foothills of strong economic recovery to facing a fresh crisis, which is still unfolding.
On the condition of the domestic market, Das said, “Consumption is holding up. Average daily electricity generation is up by 40 per cent year-on-year in April. Everyone now has learnt how to conduct businesses within restricted mobility,” Das said.
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