FM chairs FSDC meeting, takes stock of economy amid COVID-19

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman reviewed the state of the economy and vulnerabilities of the financial system during the 22nd meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) on Thursday.

The meeting, which included discussions on issues likely to be faced by banks and financial institutions and regulatory and policy responses in the financial sector, was attended by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das, chief economic adviser, KV Subramanian, minister of state for finance, Anurag Thakur and various department secretaries and heads of financial regulators.

The meeting assumed importance as it was the first meeting of the council after the Covid-19 outbreak hit the economy. The FSDC is the apex body of financial regulators, headed by the finance minister.


While noting that decisive monetary and fiscal policy actions aimed at containing the fallout from the pandemic stabilised investor sentiment in the short-run, the council agreed on the need to keep a continuous vigil on financial conditions that could expose vulnerabilities in the medium and long-term.

The council also included MS Sahoo, chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, Ajay Tyagi, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India.

Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj, Financial Services Secretary Debasish Panda, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Subhash Chandra Khuntia, and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority chairman Supratim Bandyopadhyay were also present.

Discussions covered liquidity, solvency and other issues relating to non-banking finance companies, market volatility, capital flows and resource mobilisation.