Amid the coronavirus pandemic which has infected over 600
people in India, the Union finance ministry has asked the Reserve Bank of India
to consider ensuring a string of emergency measures to help borrowers cope with
the damage caused by the outbreak.
According to a report in the Economic
Times, the department of financial services secretary
Debashish Panda wrote to RBI suggesting a moratorium of a few months on the
payment of EMIs, interest and loan repayments and a relaxation in the
classification of nonperforming assets (NPAs).
The letter stressed on the
need for relief measures for businesses and individuals facing losses arising
from the coronavirus outbreak, the report added.
Earlier this week, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day lockdown period from 25 March to help
slow the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The period will only see
essential services being allowed to function, while businesses and individuals
may not be able to pay loans due to the lockdown.
Finance minister Nirmala
Sitharaman had announced that the threshold for insolvency is being raised to
Rs 1 crore from Rs 1 lakh.
On Thursday, the finance
minister announced a Rs 1,70,000-crore scheme to provide food security to the
economically weaker sections of the society.
Tags
Economy