Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Monday that the central bank will take steps if there is a shortage of liquidity in the economy, PTI reported. Das said the liquidity requirement of the economy and financial institutions are met to a great extent.
“The RBI would not like a situation where liquidity becomes a kind of loose money,” Das said in New Delhi. “Any infusion of liquidity will have to be carefully considered and has to be need-based.”
Das, who met representatives of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, said the RBI will have to proceed with “caution and care” so that there is no excess liquidity in the system. The RBI governor also said he will meet representatives of non-banking finance companies in Mumbai on Tuesday, to understand the liquidity crunch the sector is facing.
Das said the central bank recently announced Open Market Operations worth Rs 60,000 crore for December and January, after speaking with many stakeholders. Open Market Operations refer to buying and selling of government securities in the market, to manage the amount of liquidity in the banking system.
The RBI governor said he met representatives of the MSME sector to understand their views about their current state of functioning, and the implementation of a restructuring scheme the central bank has introduced. Last week, the RBI allowed the MSME sector a one-time restructuring of existing debt up to Rs 25 crore for companies that have defaulted on payment.
“I think the mood among MSMEs is certainly quite confident,” Das said on Monday. “Many of the points that they have mentioned are in the domain of the government.”
Das took over as RBI governor after Urjit Patel resigned in December amid disagreements with the government over lending restrictions on some banks. The RBI also opposed a suggestion by the government’s inter-ministerial committee to set up an independent regulator for payment systems.
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