RBI offers moratorium to individuals, MSMEs

New Delhi: Individuals, and small business and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with a turnover of up to Rs 25 crore and who missed last years' moratorium on loans repayment due to the classification of standard as on March 31, 2021, can avail RBI's loan restructuring facility this time.

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to re-open its loan restructuring plan for those individuals and MSMEs that are struggling in the second wave of the COVID crisis.

The economy has been badly hit by the recent emergence of COVID and subsequent containment measures adopted locally and at regional levels, creating uncertainties while the country's economy has been in the initial recovery mode from its previous COVID impact.

This situation made individuals and small businesses and MSMEs borrowers more vulnerable, prompting to open the restructuring scheme for them, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

Loan restructuring under the proposed framework may be invoked up to September 30 and shall have to be implemented within 90 days thereafter, Mr Das added.

Also, individual borrowers and small businesses who availed restructuring of their loans under the Resolution Framework 1.0, where the resolution plan permitted moratorium of fewer than two years, are being permitted to use this window to modify such plans to the extent of increasing the period of moratorium or extending the tenure up to a total of two years, Mr Das explained.

In addition, RBI Governor announced that the central bank will provide a term-liquidity facility of Rs 50,000 crore to ease access of funds for emergency medical services.

Expressing confidence in India's ability to fight the ferocious rise in coronavirus cases, the government emphasised the need to marshall all our resources with renewed vigour to revive the economy.