Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has urged the public sector banks to implement 'Aatmanirbhar' relief package to revive the ailing economy. Apart from the Rs 21 lakh crore stimulus package, RBI also announced a number of market-friendly measures, including interest rate cuts. The Ministry also issued operational guidelines to banks.
State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Rajnish Kumar said that Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) steps such as a reduction in repo rate and extension of moratorium on term loans for 3 months will help revive the economy. He added that the centre and RBI are working on recognising the difficulties that different industries are facing due to COVID lockdown.
The World Bank has appointed former Bear Stearns executive Carmen Reinhart as its new vice president and chief economist. Carmen is an expert on financial crises who also serves on the advisory board of the New York Federal Reserve. She has a PhD from Columbia University and currently teaches international economics at the Harvard Kennedy School.
Ride-hailing app Uber is said to have decided to lay off nearly 3000 employees in its second round of cuts. The fall of demand for its services due to the COVID induced lockdown also prompted the company to think of closing or consolidating some 45 offices globally. Uber will reduce its costs by over US $1 billion a year by these actions, it said.
Food delivery company Swiggy said that it is laying off 1,100 employees over the next few days, amidst COVID pandemic and lockdown. At least, 14% of its workforce is laid off as the restaurant businesses are affected severely. "Today is one of the saddest days for Swiggy as we have to go through an unfortunate downsizing," Swiggy CEO Sriharsha Majety.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the central government increased borrowing limits for states to 5% from 3% of their GDP for the ongoing financial year. “In view of the unprecedented situation, the Centre has decided to accede to the request. This will provide states extra resources of Rs 4.28 lakh crore,” she said to the media.
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