Shaktikanta Das, RBI governor tests positive for coronavirus. Alerts all those who came in contact with him in recent days.
RBI Governor Says he is Asymptomatic
63-year old Das confirmed in a tweet that he has tested positive for coronavirus in a routine diagnostic check-up. Further, he stated that he is asymptomatic and is feeling fine. Besides, he also confirmed alerting all those who came in contact with him.
RBI’s Central Office to Continue Operations
The governor in his tweet said that RBI would continue to operate normally. Besides, he will continue to work from isolation and will keep in touch with all deputy governors through video conferencing and telephone. The RBI’s four deputy governors — BP Kanungo, M K Jain, Michael Patra, and M Rajeshwar Rao tested negative for the coronavirus.
The main office building of RBI will undergo sanitization and will keep up with the practice of frequent disinfection and thermal screening of its workers. The governor and the entire staff of RBI have been working since the start of the lockdown.
Governor’s Recent Appearances
The governor chaired the 585th board meeting of the RBI on October 23 through video conference. The meeting was held to discuss the economic situation, continued global and domestic challenges, and RBIs operations. He also appeared in an online panel discussion at the launch of N K Singhs (an eminent economist, politician, and former IAS) book. On October 21 he said that the economy is on the doorstep of revival. Hence it is crucial to ensure that financial entities have adequate capital.
The RBI held the policy repo rate unchanged at 4.0% in the last MPC meeting. The central bank had set up a war room in the early days of the pandemic where 120 officers stayed at the workplace. While one-fourth of its workforce is attending office, the rest are working from home to avoid the risk of infection.
In all, the governor asserted that he would go to perform his duties from isolation.