RBI noted that special refinance facilities for a total amount of Rs 65,000 crore were provided to all India financial institutions (AIFIs) – the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD); the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI); the National Housing Bank (NHB); and EXIM Bank – in order to support their role in meeting funding requirements of various sectors. In order to shield the housing sector from liquidity disruptions under the prevailing conditions and augment the flow of finance to the sector, it has been decided to provide an additional standing liquidity facility (ASLF) of Rs 5,000 crore to NHB – over and above Rs 10,000 crore already provided – for supporting housing finance companies (HFCs). The facility will be for a period of one year and will be charged at the RBI’s repo rate.

Liquidity support of Rs 25,000 crore was extended to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in April 2020 to back agricultural operations in the wake of challenges posed by COVID-19 and in view of the brightening prospects of the farm sector, its capacity to provide employment in these trying times, and its backward and forward linkages. In order to ameliorate the stress being faced by smaller non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) and micro-finance institutions in obtaining access to liquidity, it has now been decided to provide an additional special liquidity facility (ASLF) of Rs 5,000 crore to NABARD for a period of one year at the RBI’s policy repo rate for refinancing NBFC-MFIs and other smaller NBFCs of asset size of Rs 500 crore and less to support agriculture and allied activities and the rural non-farm sector.