India's central bank eased rules for lending money to tsunami victims on Saturday and advised banks to do more to provide financial aid in affected areas. The Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks to lend 5,000 rupees ($114) without any collateral to individuals for routine household expenditure. Earlier, the limit was 3,000 rupees. "The limit may be enhanced to 10,000 rupees at the discretion of the branch manager," the central bank said in a statement.
The central bank advisory comes two days after its governor, Y.V. Reddy, said the Dec. 26 tsunami would have a limited economic impact but it would put some pressure on the federal fiscal deficit.
The devastating tsunami killed 15,636 people in India and destroyed roads, homes and communication links in coastal states Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as well as the Andaman and Nicobar islands.
The central bank has advised banks to provide education loans easily to the victims to purchase books and clothes for their children studying in schools and colleges.
Comments
Comments are closed.