RBI monetary policy: Repo rate unchanged, relief for MSMEs l Key details

The Reserve Bank of India left the repo rate unchanged at 4% and reverse repo rate at 3.35%. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also said that they would maintain an accommodative stance in view of the Covid pandemic. Repo rate is the rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks, and reverse repo is the rate at which it borrows from them. The Central bank also decided to allow lenders to provide a restructuring facility on some loans that were standard as on March 1, 2020. 'Real GDP growth in the first half of the year is estimated to remain in the contraction zone. For the year 2020-21 as a whole, real GDP growth is also estimated to be negative,' the RBI Governor said. Stressed MSME borrowers would be eligible for restructuring of debt, if their accounts were classified standard, Das added. The governor also raised the loan-to-value ratio against gold to 90% from current 75%, to mitigate COVID-19 impact on households. Watch the full video for all the takeaways from the RBI monetary policy announcements.