RBI announces further measures for dealing with the pandemic COVID-19

After providing relief to borrowers and financial markets to handle the disruption caused by the Corona Virus disease (COVID-19) , the Reserve Bank has now come to the rescue of state governments, exporters and also provide relief to banks' capital concerns. It has not only enhanced state government's short-term liquidity needs, but relaxed export repatriation limits from nine months to 15 months and also said that capital conservation buffer may not be activated for a year.

"It has been decided to increase WMA limit by 30 percent from the existing limit for all States/UTs to enable the State Governments to tide over the situation arising from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic" the Reserve Bank said in a release. The revised limits will come into force with effect from April 1, 2020 and will be valid till September 30, 2020. Reserve Bank had constituted an Advisory Committee under Sudhir Shrivastava to review the Ways and Means limits for State Governments and Union Territories.