Zee Business Impact: RBI puts stamp of approval on Anil Singhvi's demand to cut repo rate by 75 bps

The Reserve Bank of India finally announced a massive repo rate cut on Friday, meeting the long pending demand of Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi, thereby bringing relief to the common man. Zee Business was the first to demand a rate cut from the RBI as situation started to get worse due to the coronavirus outbreak and thereafter, lockdown. Anil Singhvi on March 3, 2020 had asked the RBI to reduce the repo rate in a big way - as high as 75 bps.

A week later, he had again demanded aggressive steps from the Central Bank on March 11. Singhvi had urged RBI governor to talk to the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and even to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, if required. He had said that the Indian economy needs emergency surgery and that a few injections will not help it.

The Reserve Bank of India today cut the repo rate, the rate at which the central bank lends to banks, by 75 basis points to 4.4%. The RBI also announced a reduction in cash reserve ratio by 100 basis points to 3%, a move that will release Rs 1.37 lakh crore into the financial system. These measures will help banks pass on some of the rate reduction to borrowers, making EMIs cheaper.

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सबसे पहले ज़ी बिज़नेस ने कहा- RBI ब्याज दरों में करे 0.75 बेसिस प्वाइंट की कटौती...#RBI #RepoRate #RBIRateCut @AnilSinghvi_ @RBI @DasShaktikanta @RBIsays @FinMinIndia @nsitharaman @ianuragthakur @nsitharamanoffc @Anurag_Office pic.twitter.com/NjM5kHQhZd

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) March 27, 2020

While addressing media through video conferencing, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said that RBI's monetary policy committee voted 4:2 majority to cut repo rate by 75 basis points. The monetary policy committee advanced its meeting, which was scheduled in first week of April.

The announcements came a day after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore economic stimulus plan that provides direct cash transfers and food security measures to offer relief to crores of people hit by a nationwide lockdown triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.