On-tap liquidity window for contact-intensive sectors extended till June 30: RBI Governor

RBI Monetary Policy Feb 2022: The Reserve Bank of India has announced extension of the on-tap liquidity window for contact-intensive sectors till June 30, 2022. The announcement was made by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das during his Monetary Policy speech on Thursday. The Indian Central Bank has taken this decision in view of the responses received to the scheme, the Governor said. 

"In view of the response to the scheme, it is now proposed to extend this window up to June 30, 2022," RBI said in a statement.

According to the bank, it was decided on June 4, 2021, to open a separate liquidity window of Rs 15,000 crore at the repo rate for certain contact-intensive sectors with a tenure of up to three years available till March 31, 2022.

Such banks were entitled to lodge their surplus funds with the RBI up to the size of the COVID-19 loan book developed under the plan as part of the incentive.

"The amount in this COVID-19 loan book attracted a rate which is 25 bps lower than the repo rate or, termed in a different way, 40 bps higher than the reverse repo rate," the bank said.

This incentive was also available to banks that were ready to use their own funds instead of borrowing from the Reserve Bank of India under the lending plan.

Banks have deployed their own funds to the tune of Rs 5,041 crores (as on February 4, 2022) for entities under the contact intensive sector.
The deadline has now been extended to June 30, 2022, based on the positive response to the scheme.