india

Updated: Apr 17, 2020 10:29 IST

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday quoted Mahatma Gandhi as he made a statement for the second time during the lockdown to break the chain of coronavirus infections.

The RBI governor quoted from Mahatma Gandhi’s speech in October 1931 in London’s Kingsley Hall to focus on what the central bank is doing in its fight against the coronavirus disease.

“…in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists,” he said.

He also thanked the RBI staff and others who have been on the frontline of India’s fight against the coronavirus infection.

“Today, humanity faces perhaps the trial of its time as Covid-19 grips the world with its deadly embrace. Everywhere as also in India, the mission is to do whatever to takes to prevent the epidemiological curve from steeping any further,” Das said.

“In this kind of environment Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been very proactive and has been monitoring the situation very closely,” he said.

“Human spirit is ignited by the resolve to curb the pandemic. It is during our darkest moments that we must focus on the light,” he said.

Das had announced a rate cut of 75 basis points in his previous address on March 27.

The RBI governor had also announced a three-month moratorium on term loans whose instalments are due between March 1 and May 31.