“The announcements made by the RBI Governor today reflect that the Central Bank and Government are well aware of the impact of the second wave of the pandemic, shall proactively take measures to counter the economic fallout and take necessary steps in order to revive the economy. The Rs 50,000 Cr term liquidity facility to “Ease Access to Emergency Health Services” will come as a big relief to healthcare service providers, equipment manufacturers and patients alike. The Credit to MSME and Resolution Framework 2.0 for COVID related stress assets will provide a lifeline to many struggling individuals, entrepreneurs and enterprises.

CREDAI urges and expects that similar measures which shall address concerns of large businesses and labour-intensive sectors like Real Estate will be announced in days to come. We strongly believe that measures that make accounts classified as SMA 1 and SMA 2 also eligible for restructuring and interest moratorium coupled with additional liquidity under ECLGS 3.0 passed onto real estate projects will kick-start the engines of economy and job creation which are most important to offset the effects of the second wave. Also, it is high time that the Government considers reclassification of SMA across businesses as this would ease liquidity pressure on NBFCs and Banks.

The aftereffect of the second wave will last for a much longer period because of the exponentially large number of infections and deaths and the true impact is yet to be assessed. Hence, proactive measures, much larger than those announced during the first wave of the pandemic last year, are the need of the hour.”