‘RBI policies helped ease severity of economic impact of COVID- 19’

Chennai: Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Saturday said the year 2020 could be marked as one of the toughest periods for human society caused by COVID-19 and the policies adopted by the central bank have helped in easing the severity of the economic impact of the pandemic.

“The year bygone could be marked as one of the toughest periods for human society. The unprecedented health and economic catastrophe caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and widened economic and social fault lines across countries”, Das said.

The Governor made the comments while delivering the 39th Nani Palkhivala Memorial Lecture on Saturday.

“It is essential to evolve a prudent and judicious approach towards managing the financial system not only during the pandemic but also in its aftermath”, he noted.

With the principal objective during the pandemic to support economic activity, Das said, “looking back, it is evident that our policies have helped in easing the severity of the economic impact of the pandemic”.

“I would like to unambiguously reiterate that the Reserve Bank remains steadfast to take any further measures, as may be necessary, while at the same time remaining fully committed to maintain financial stability,” he added.