MUMBAI: The Reserve Baank of India (RBI) on Wednesday said the second purchase of government securities worth Rs 35,000 crore under the G-sec Acquisition Programme (G-SAP 1.0) would be done on May 20 for an orderly evolution of the yield curve as a fresh Covid wave threatens to hit the economy.
The first purchase of Rs 25,000 crore last month received enthusiastic response from the market, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said while announcing a slew of measures to provide relief to various segments of economy hit by the second wave of the pandemic.
The RBI will do second purchase of government securities (G-secs) aggregating Rs 35,000 crore in two weeks, he said.
To provide clarity on its bond-buying programme through open market operations (OMO), Das had announced Rs 1 lakh crore target for the first quarter under the new instrument called G-SAP 1.0.
On the rate of price rise, he said food and fuel inflation had pushed core inflation.
Expected normal monsoon forecast should help contain food price inflation, he added.
The RBI Governor, in an unscheduled announcement, said the central bank would continue to monitor the situation from resurgence of Covid cases and deploy all resources.
“We have to marshal our resources for fighting the virus with vigour,” he added.