The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the cap on e-Rupee prepaid digital vouchers. The current ceiling of 10,000 will be raised to 1 lakh per voucher and can be used several times, governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Thursday.
Also Read| RBI monetary policy: Repo rate unchanged, GDP projected to grow at 7.8%
Furthermore, in order to provide improved infrastructure for TReDs settlement, the governor advocated increasing the NACH mandate limit for trade-related settlements from Rs 1 crore to Rs 3 crore.
Also Read | India Union Budget 2022: FM projects 9.2% growth propelled by sharp rebound
The Central Bank has also prolonged the on-tap liquidity window for healthcare till June 30th and increased the voluntary retention route cap by 1 lakh crore to 2.5 lakh crore.
Also Read| Why India turned down Elon Musk’s tax break request
The RBI governor forecasts 7.8% economic growth in India for the fiscal year 2023 (FY23). The current fiscal year’s growth rate remains at 9.2%.
Also Read| ‘Reduce crypto tax’ turns social media trend as budget bogs down investors
According to the governor, there has been some loss of economic momentum as a result of the third pandemic wave, and demand for contact-intensive industries has been dampened.
Also Read| Budgets have disappointed markets more often than not
Furthermore, for the tenth meeting in a row, the Central Bank has held the benchmark interest rate or repo rate – the rate at which banks borrow from the Central Bank – constant at 4% and chose to maintain an accommodating stance.
Also Read| Joe Biden hails January job report as US’ COVID affected economy recovers
In the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, the RBI implemented an ultra-loose monetary policy, and in order to provide ample liquidity to the economy, it lowered the key rate to a record low of 4%, which it has maintained since May 2020.
Also Read| Economic Survey 2022: Key highlights from Sanjeev Sanyal’s speech
The six-member Monetary Policy Committee headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das started deliberations on the bi-monthly policy review on Tuesday and made the announcements on Thursday. The meeting of the top bank was originally scheduled to take place between February 7 and February 9 but was deferred by a day after the Maharashtra government declared February 7 a public holiday to mourn the death of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.