India

The initiative has reportedly been sped up in response to recent frauds at Yes Bank and Punjab National Bank.

During India's lockdown, currency, bond and money markets will operate for only 4 hours. SEBI has also brought forward the cut-off times for the mutual fund industry.

Existing small finance banks will not need prior RBI approval to undertake non-risk sharing simple financial service activities or open banking outlets in unbanked rural centres.

The RBI has fully opened certain categories of government securities to non-resident investors and raised the FPI limit for investment in corporate bonds.

Market participants call SEBI's move timely, amid fears of mass downgrades in light of the operational disruptions caused by Covid-19.

The new stewardship code for mutual funds is deferred three months. Portfolio managers, AIFs, and VC funds have two more months to comply with new disclosure requirements.

A plan to merge ten state-run banks into four takes effect from 1 April, in a move that will help consolidate their national presence and extend their global reach.

The measures include a 3 month moratorium on term loans, deferred interest on working capital loans, $50bn of liquidity measures, and 6-month delays for NSFR, CCB and LEI implementation.

The government has also asked the RBI to consider implementing a months-long moratorium on the debt repayments and to relax NPA classification norms.

The new measures include relief from mutual fund policy initiatives, penalty provision exemptions for brokers, and various deadline extensions.