Repo rate cut is to focus on reviving growth says RBI Governor

New Delhi, Mar 27: The Reserve Bank of India, today announced the reduction of repo rate cut considerably to help the country tide over the coronavirus disease pandemic.

The monetary policy voted to reduce repo rate by 75 basis points that is 4.4 per cent. The reverse repo rate was reduced by 90 basis points, RBI Governor, Shaktikanta Das said at a press conference here.

He further said that it would be unproductive for banks to park money with the RBI. They will have to give it to the people, he further added. Tough times do not last. Only tough people and tough institutions do, he also said.

On Thursday Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a 1.76 lakh crore package under a new scheme called the Pradhan Mantri Gareeb Yojana. The package was announced to address the immediate distress in the wake of the lockdown announced by the government to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

The government under this scheme aims at distributing 5 kilograms of rice or rice for each person free of cost. The government also said that it would distribute one kilogram of pulses to every low income family over the next three months. The finance minister also underlined plans for medical insurance of Rs 50 lakh for every front line health worker that would include doctors, nurses and paramedics.