Comments from Khushru Jijina, MD, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance on RBI policy.

“The downward revision of growth projection by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) from 7.2 % to 7% in 2019-20 calls for the implementation of additional rapid policy interventions by both RBI as well as the Government. The unanimous decision by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the repo rate by another 25 bps is a step in the right direction.

NBFCs are instrumental in providing credit to MSMEs and real estate sectors, that are significant to India’s GDP. MSMEs contribute 31% of the GDP, 40% of exports and hires 25% of the labour force while real estate contributes more than 5% to GDP and hires 17% of the labour force directly or indirectly.

The credit crunch in the NBFC sector has witnessed a corresponding decline in manufacturing and construction activities in the last two quarters of 2018-19. We anticipate more decisive and pro-active policy measures to address the current liquidity crisis, that will enable NBFCs to restore lending activities, especially to these critical sectors.”

this is what Icici had to say…

Comments by Mr. B Prasanna, Group Head – Global Markets – Sales, Trading and Research, ICICI Bank on RBI Policy announced today

“The policy was very positive and was reinforced by unanimous voting and the change in stance to accommodative. The statement’s focus on supporting growth and bolstering private investment as long as inflation remains within the mandate, is also encouraging and leads us to believe that more accommodation is on the cards.

Our own expectations for growth and inflation for FY2020 also underscore this view as we expect headline inflation to average under 4% and have revised our growth forecasts lower. The internal committee for liquidity framework is a welcome step. It will help to reduce the information asymmetry regarding systemic liquidity and will benefit not only markets but also banking decisions as regards, deposit taking, lending and transmission. Further, in light of the recent upheavals in the NBFC space, the Governor’s statement that all necessary steps would be taken to maintain financial stability is reassuring.”