INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced changes in timings for currency and debt markets with effect from Tuesday due to outbreak of
Currency and debt markets will open at 10:00 am and close at 2:00 pm till April 17, the Reserve Bank of India said in an official
notification."The unprecedented situation created by the COVID-19 outbreak has necessitated lockdowns, social distancing, restrictions on
movement of people and non-essential activities, work from home arrangements and business continuity plans
The resultant dislocations have adversely impacted the functioning of financial markets
Staff and IT resources have been severely affected, posing operational and logistic risks
The thinning out of activity is impacting market liquidity and increasing volatility of financial prices," RBI said in the
notification.Currently, currency and debt markets open at 9:00 am and close at 5:00 pm.The changes in timings of currency and debt markets
come after the timings of commodity derivatives were revised last month
Reserve Bank of India has said that all banking services such as RTGS, NEFT, e-kuber and other retail payments systems will continue to be
available as per extant timings.The country entered the tenth day of a 21-day nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus
Fifty-six people have so far died after being infected by the novel coronavirus, the Union Health Ministry said, with six of those deaths
being reported in a 24-hour period.
