New Delhi: Amid reports of a slowdown in the Indian economy, Finance Minister held a surprise press conference. In which she announced a slew of measures to boost the Indian economy and give relief to the consumers and companies at large.
She announced that the banks would soon make home and car EMIs cheaper. She said that RBI had been cutting down the repo rate, but banks were not granting the benefit on the rate cut to the borrowers. And now they agreed to pass on this benefit.
With EMIS getting cheaper, it will low down the prices of home and car. This announcement will also aid in uplift the auto and real estate sector who are drastically hit by the slowdown.
Addressing the press conference, Sitharaman said, “The banks have now decided to pass on any rate cut through MCLR reduction to benefit all borrowers. This will result in reduced EMIs for housing loans, vehicles and other retail loans, by directly linking repo rates to the interest rates.”
Sitharaman also announced that the government has rolled back enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors (FPIs), restoring pre-budget position. Intending to end harassment of taxpayers, the FM also announced that all tax notices will be issued from a centralised system. Also, the government will infuse upfront Rs 70,000 crore into public sector banks to enable them of releasing Rs 5 lakh crore liquidity in the market. Banks will also launch a repo rate or external benchmark-linked loan products. It was also announced that Old BS-4 vehicles purchased up to March 31, 2020, will remain operational for the entire duration of registration.
The slowdown in India’s economic growth has already resulted in job loss of lakhs of employees in the crucial automotive industry. Also, recently, India’s largest biscuit maker Parle Products Pvt Ltd announced that it might lay off up to 10,000 workers if the low consumption remains continue. Parle claims after the introduction of GST, it forced to offer fewer biscuits in each pack keeping the price same as Rs 5. Following which, demand from lower-income consumers in rural India impacted, which contributes more than half of Parle’s revenue.
With the announcement of sops to various sectors, it will give them relief up to some extent.
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