The Manipur government has decided to invoke the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) riot relief measures in the state.
- As the riots and violence in the state have impacted the economic activities and livelihood of a majority of the general public, the state has decided to invoke the measure as a relief measure.
Key points
- So far, the guidelines have been mostly used in the areas impacted by natural calamities and not under difficult law and order situations.
- The state government’s order said that Chapter VII of the “Reserve Bank of India (Relief Measures by Banks in Areas Affected by Natural Calamities) Directions, 2018”, related to “Riots and Disturbances”, applies to the state.
- Whenever RBI advises the banks to extend rehabilitation assistance to the riot/disturbance affected persons, the aforesaid guidelines may broadly be followed by banks for the purpose.
- According to the directions, all the short-term loans, except those overdue at the time of the occurrence of riots, will be eligible for restructuring.
- For crop loans, if the loss is between 33 per cent and 50 per cent, a maximum repayment period of up to two years should be allowed. If the crop loss is 50 per cent or more, the repayment period may be extended up to a maximum of five years.
- In all restructured loan accounts, a moratorium period of at least one year should be considered.
- Banks should also not insist on additional collateral security for such restructured loans. In all other loans, the state-level banking committee (SLBC) and district consultative committee (DCC) must specify which loans need to be restructured.
- Based on that and the extent of loss, the loans will be restructured by individual banks. The issuance of fresh loans will also be taken based on the decision of SLBC or DCC.
- The banks will also grant consumption loans up to Rs 10,000 to existing borrowers without any collateral.
- For the people who have lost their documents due to the calamity of riots, the banks need to open new accounts for such people. This will be applicable where the balance in the account does not exceed Rs 50,000. The total credit in the account should not exceed Rs 1,00,000.
