RBI to be ‘proactive’ in tackling coronavirus, says governor Shaktikanta Das

“If required, the RBI will act as and when required and, as in the past, the RBI will be proactive and act in time,” Das said, when asked if the central bank needs to make an emergency move.

The Reserve Bank of India will be proactive in dealing with threats stemming from the coronavirus outbreak and will have assessed the potential impact on India by the next rate decision due April 3, Governor Shaktikanta Das told BloombergQuint.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das said that the central bank will have assessed the potential impact of coronavirus by April 3 . (PTI)

“If required, the RBI will act as and when required and, as in the past, the RBI will be proactive and act in time,” Das said, when asked if the central bank needs to make an emergency move. His comments come just days after the U.S. Federal Reserve cut rates by 50 basis points in a surprise decision, triggering speculation that other central banks will follow suit.

In a report, Deutsche Bank said it saw increased possibility of the RBI delivering an at least 25 basis points rate cut before its April 3 decision.

“With the concerns related to growth likely to dominate over inflation in the coming months and quarters, a preemptive move by RBI makes sense, especially given the considerable lag with which monetary policy transmission works in India,” Kaushik Das, chief India economist at Deutsche Bank wrote.