India gives R96bn to fight pandemic

Mumbai – India released $6.7 billion (about R96 billion) in cheap financing for vaccine makers, hospitals and other health firms yesterday, to counter the devastating coronavirus surge gripping the country.

Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das also vowed to deploy “unconventional” measures if the crisis worsens.

He spoke as India announced a record 3 780 deaths in 24 hours, as well as 382 000 new cases.

This week, it became the second country after the United States to pass 20 million cases and hospitals across the country of 1.3 billion people have complained of chronic shortages of beds, oxygen, vaccines and key drugs.

“The devastating speed with which the virus affects different regions of the country has to be matched by swift and wide-ranging actions,” Das said.

The new measures – making it easier for banks to give cheap loans to hospitals, oxygen manufacturers and even patients – aim to improve access to emergency health care, he said.

The central bank will also give some general business borrowers more time to repay loans to help underpin the economy, Das said.

“The immediate objective is to preserve human life and restore livelihoods through all means possible,” he added.

India’s underfunded healthcare system has struggled to cope with the latest Covid-19 onslaught, with patients dying in hospital parking areas due to a lack of beds and oxygen.

Experts have warned that case numbers will keep rising until the end of May and could reach 500 000 new infections a day.

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