RBI will focus on reviving growth: Shaktikanta Das at ET Awards 2020

The Reserve Bank of India will continue to focus on reviving growth while maintaining financial stability, Business Reformer of the Year, Governor Shaktikanta Das said while accepting the ET awards for Corporate Excellence on Saturday. Das dedicated the award to his entire team at the RBI and said that the regulator will continue to remain proactive in dealing with challenges emanating from the pandemic.

“I would like to acknowledge the role played by the entire team of the Reserve Bank of India in this pandemic year in dealing with the Covid related stress,” Das said while accepting the award. “RBI has tried to be as proactive as possible in dealing with the challenges arising out of Covid. It shall be our endeavour to continue to be proactive and focus on supporting growth while maintaining price stability and financial stability.”

In a separate interview to ET earlier this week, Das had said that the worst is behind for the Covid-ravaged Indian economy and it could go only upwards from here. Though he had sounded a cautious note on the rise in Covid infections and said that all stakeholders need to be vigilant.


``The growth is back,’’ Das told ET in an interview. ``The huge capital expenditure announced by the government will support economic activity and investment. It is expected to crowd in private investment. Now, the economy will move only in one direction - that is upwards.’’

Indian economy is forecast to grow 10.5 percent in the next fiscal after contracting in the current fiscal due to months of loss of economic activity due to lockdowns. While the activity has accelerated, the sudden surge in new cases of Coronavirus infections and a surge in prices have brought worries about inflation. But the RBI is committed to keeping its easy monetary stance for some time.


Rising bond yields across the globe poses challenges to economic recovery, but the central bank is confident that it would be able to manage the government’s borrowing programme smoothly though investors are worried.


``This year we managed in excess of Rs 13 lakh crore of government borrowing,’’ Das had said in the interview. ``Next year it’s about Rs 12 lakh crore and the net borrowing is Rs 9 lakh crore. We will be able to deal with central government borrowing. State government borrowings will be of the same magnitude as this year which was about Rs 10 lakh crore. Both put together we should be able to manage.’’