Govt. announces ₹1.7 lakh cr relief package

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Last week benchmark indices closed in the red, owing to a see-saw trading week that was marked by high volatility
Nifty ended down 0.97% at 8660.25 and Sensex closed at 29815.59, lower by 0.34%. Nifty Mid-cap 100 and Small-cap 100 ended down by 6.5% and 8.6% respectively
After coming within touching distance of its historical high level, the India VIX ended the week at 70.39. The index has spiked 203% since the end of February
Last week, the government announced a ₹1.7 lakh crore Prime Minister Gareeb Kalyan Yojana package to protect the poor from the economic impact of the 21-day nationwide lockdown
The package includes direct benefit cash transfers, free LPG, grains and pulses for the poor. Additionally, the middle class would be able to withdraw funds from their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) account
On Friday, Reserve Bank of India lowered the policy repo rate by 75 basis points to 4.4%
RBI also imposed a moratorium on principal and interest payments for 3 months and told banks & non-banking finance companies that non-payment will not be considered as non-performing assets (NPA). The central bank also cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) to 3% from 4% of the deposit base

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