RTGS system to become 24x7 from December this year: RBI governor

TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Oct 9, 2020, 11:36 IST

(File photo)

NEW DELHI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced that RTGS (Real Time Gross Settlement ) system will become 24x7 from December this year. "In order to facilitate swift and seamless payments in real time for domestic businesses and institutions, it has been decided to make available the RTGS system round the clock on all days from December 2020. India will be among very few countries globally with a 24x7x365 large value real time payment system," RBI governor Shaktikanta Das said.
In December 2019, the Reserve Bank made available the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) system on a 24x7x365 basis.

Repo rate unchanged at 4%; GDP to contract by 9.5% in current FY: RBI governor

The RBI decided to keep repo rate unchanged at 4 per cent in its October policy meet while maintaining the accommodative stance.
"Covid-19 has tested and severely stretched our resources and our endurance. Our travails are not over yet and a renewed rise in infections remains a serious risk. We have, however, come far on an un-travelled road, with self-belief and the courage of hope," the RBI governor stated.
On the economic front, the RBI said the GDP (gross domestic product) is likely to contract by 9.5 per cent in the current fiscal (2020-21).
GDP contracted 23.9 per cent in the first quarter of the fiscal, as per the estimates of the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
The spread of coronavirus and resultant lockdown had severely hit the economic activities in the country.
Das also said contraction in economic growth witnessed in the April-June quarter of the fiscal is "behind us" and silver linings are visible, and highlighted the uptick in manufacturing sector, and energy consumption, among others.
According to him, inflation too is likely to ease to the target level in the fourth quarter of 2020-21.
The retail inflation (CPI), which the RBI factors in its monetary policy, has remained above 6 per cent in the recent months. The government has tasked RBI to keep the inflation at 4 per cent, with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
(With PTI inputs)