Hastened Pace Of Vaccination Critical To Preserve Lives, Livelihoods: RBI

A hastened pace of vaccination is critical to preserve lives and livelihoods, and prevent a resurgence in new waves of infections, the Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Friday. “A hastened pace of the vaccination drive and quick ramping up of healthcare infrastructure across both urban and rural areas are critical to preserve lives and livelihoods and prevent a resurgence in new waves of infections,” the Governor said.

The RBI Governor said the vaccination process is expected to gather momentum and this will help in normalising the economy quickly. Citing example of advanced economies, the MPC noted that global economic recovery has been powered by massive vaccination programmes and stimulus packages.

“Since the MPC’s meeting in April, the global economic recovery has been gaining momentum, driven mainly by major advanced economies (AEs) and powered by massive vaccination programmes and stimulus packages. Activity remains uneven in major emerging market economies (EMEs), with downside risks from renewed waves of infections due to contagious mutants of the virus and the relatively slow progress in vaccination,” the Governor noted.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged at a record low 4 per cent and maintained its accommodative stance. All the MPC members unanimously voted to continue with the accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis and continue to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target going forward, the Governor said.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also pegged India’s growth rate at 9.5 per cent for current financial year. “Real GDP growth is now projected at 9.5 per cent in 2021-22, consisting of 18.5 per cent in Q1; 7.9 per cent in Q2; 7.2 per cent in Q3; and 6.6 per cent in Q4:2021-22,” the RBI said in a statement.