FM Nirmala's assurance: Will speak to banks to facilitate cash flow; ensure timely access

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday lauded the service of the banking correspondents across the country amid the Coronavirus crisis. Taking to Twitter, she appreciated their service and stated that she will be speaking to the states across the country to not restrict the movement of the banking correspondents during the lockdown. 

The Finance Minister also stated that she will speak to all the banks to facilitate proper cash flow. 

FM & RBI announce mega measures

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a relief package for the poor and the affected persons due to the Coronavirus shutdown. According to the finance minister, the package is worth Rs 1.7 lakh crore, under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Yojana. 

On Friday, RBI slashed the key Repo rate by a huge 75 basis points (one basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point) and took other measures to revive growth. Governor Shaktikanta Das also announced steps to ensure liquidity in the system, and in perhaps his biggest move, announced the option of a 3-month moratorium on all term loans outstanding on March 1, 2020.

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The Coronavirus crisis

As of date, India has reported over 850 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19. Out of all the states, Kerala has crossed a total of 115 positive cases becoming the highest number of cases detected in the country. Meanwhile, 19 people have died so far due to the deadly virus.  Due to the outbreak, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put India under a national lockdown for 21 days. Further, India has also closed the India-Pakistan border and restricted passenger movement at the border with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Myanmar.  

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Presently, there are around 594,377 confirmed cases of COVID-19 which has led to the death of around 27,250 people. Meanwhile, around 133,006 have reportedly been recovered. Currently, as per reports, the hardest-hit region is the United States of America, followed by China, and then Italy, Iran and South Korea, where the number of cases is rising by the hour.

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