Published 23:27 IST, March 27th 2020
Clear the world has hit recession, as bad or worse than in 2009: IMF Chief Georgieva
In wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund stated that the world has been hit by recession
In wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on Friday stated that the world has been hit by the recession. Georgieva also added that the recession is as bad or even worse than the one that hit back in 2009. The IMF MD suggested that it will require a massive funding to help developing nations in this time of crisis and announced that the IMF has launched a policy actions tracker for 186 countries to help us all see who is doing what.
'It is clear that we have entered a recession'
In an online press briefing on Friday, Kristalina Georgieva said, "We have reassessed the prospects for growth for 2020 and 2021. It is now clear that we have entered a recession - as bad or worse than in 2009. We do project recovery in 2021 - in fact, there may be a sizeable rebound, but only if we succeed with containing the virus everywhere and prevent liquidity problems from becoming a solvency issue. A key concern about a long-lasting impact of the sudden stop on the world economy is the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs that not only can undermine the recovery but can erode the fabric of our societies."
Furthermore, she added, "To avoid this from happening, many countries have taken far-reaching measures to address the health crisis to cushion its impact on the economy - both on the monetary and on the fiscal side. The G20 yesterday reported fiscal measures totalling some $5 trillion over 6% of the global GDP. It is very important for those ahead in taking action to share their experience with those still behind."
RBI Cuts Repo Rate
Meanwhile, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a 'sizeable reduction' in the policy repo rate of the country, slashing it by 75 base points to 4.4%, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Friday. Addressing the media via a video conference, the RBI governor revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which preponed its meeting, voted in a majority of 4:2 to have a sizeable deduction in the policy repo rate. The reverse repo rate was slashed by 90 base points to 4%.
Updated 23:27 IST, March 27th 2020