ASIA:  The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee met today and announced a series of measures to counter the economic slowdown caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic. The repo rate and reverse repo rate have been cut by 74 bps and 90 bps respectively. All commercial banks and lending institutions can allow a three-month […]

ASIA: India announced an economic stimulus package worth $22.5 billion on Thursday to help millions of low-income households cope with a 21-day lockdown due to the coronavirus outbreak. The package will be disbursed through food security measures for poor households and through direct cash transfers to the beneficiaries’ bank accounts directly. India banned exports of […]

ASIA: India’s informal sector which comprises of approx. 1 million daily wage workers (mainly working in the construction sector) may face a big problem after the country went into a complete lockdown for 21 days. Many Indian states have announced packages ranging from 1K INR to 5k INR to support the daily wage workers but […]

ASIA: India announced a nationwide lockdown starting at midnight to contain the novel coronavirus. The duration of the lockdown will be 21 days. India also announced 21.5 million USD of fund allocation to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country. The total cases of coronavirus have surpassed 500 in India. India’s central bank, the Reserve […]

ASIA: In an effort to counter the coronavirus outbreak in the country, 75 districts across India, including major cities such as the capital New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kolkata have been placed under travel, work, and movement restrictions until March 31. So far, India has reported 415 active cases of coronavirus, including 7 […]

QUESTION: Marty, To those of us in the eurozone who own physical gold, what would you suggest to do? Thanks for keeping your human heart. Kind regards, KVS ANSWER: I believe you may start to see this idea floated in the press next week. It will probably be voluntary at first. I do not believe […]

ASIA: The total number of coronavirus cases in India has climbed to 195 after over 35 new cases emerged from the various parts of the country. This marks the highest number of reported cases in a single day. At present, there are 171 active coronavirus patients in the country, according to the data released by […]

ASIA: India reported two more deaths due to the coronavirus, bringing the death toll to five. The Indian government announced a total ban on flights by scheduled international passenger aircraft at Indian airports from March 22 to 29. Prime Minister Narendra Modi requested in his address to the nation to not come out of their […]

ASIA: The Indian Bank Association had an emergency meeting on Monday evening to explore ways to lend a helping hand to businesses hit by the COVID-19 outbreak. During the video conference meeting called on short notice, they discussed possible credit lines and special benefits that could be given to certain sectors such as transportation, travel […]

ASIA: India closed the Taj Mahal, one of the world’s premier tourist destinations, to counter the COVID-19 virus outbreak in the country. India has so far managed to keep cases low by responding fast and aggressively to the coronavirus and urging people to practice social distancing. India has reported 125 cases of the coronavirus. India […]