Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Wednesday said that the situation is never easy and they cannot have a straight-line evolution of the economy. The economy across the world has gone through a tough phase in the last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns followed by it.

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In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Das said, "The situation is never easy. We cannot have a straight-line evolution of the economy. We have managed the situation reasonably well during this entire COVID-19 period."

In terms of liquidity, Das said that the Central Bank has several measures on the table. "We will not prematurely pull out liquidity to stifle growth. The Central Bank has many known and unknown tools to deal with liquidity situations. RBI will ensure the availability of ample liquidity."

Das said that the market should take the signal from the RBI and must trust it. The RBI also gave some subtle messages on the liquidity that the markets should read, said Das, adding that the signal was clear in the February policy. The RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had kept the repo rate unchanged in the sixth and last bi-monthly monetary policy meeting for the financial year 2020-21. The repo rate stands at 4 percent and the reverse repo rate has at 3.35 percent.

"The messages from central banks are always a mix of words and subtle signals. At the moment, we are okay with the level of liquidity. All the instruments are on the table; if required we will use new instruments."

First Published:Feb 24, 2021 11:24 AM IST