 "Manipur violence")
The crisis in Manipur has prompted the state government to invoke the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) riot-relief measures that allow banks to restructure loans with at least one year of moratorium and grant consumption loans, among others.
According to the Manipur government’s notification, the governor has declared that as the riots affected economic activities and livelihood of the majority of the public, relief measures are taken up under the RBI’s (relief measures in banks in areas affected by Natural Calamities) direction 2018, chapter VII, Riots and Disturbances: Applicability of Guidelines.
The RBI norms state that short-term crop loans can be restructured for riot-affected borrowers with a maximum repayment period of two years, including one year of moratorium if the loss is between 33 and 50 per cent.
If the crop loss is more than 50 per cent, the five-year repayment period may be extended up to a maximum of five years, including the one-year moratorium period. The restructured portion of the short-term as well as long-term loans may be treated as current dues and need not be classified as non-performing assets, the norms said.
The rules allow banks not to insist on additional collateral security for such restructured loans.
“In the event of large-scale riots where most parts of the state/area are affected and the state administration is not in a position to identify the riot/disturbance-affected persons and subject to state-level bankers’ committee specific decision, the onus of identifying ‘genuine persons’ will rest with banks,” the norms said.
Banks can also extend grant consumption loans up to Rs 10,000 to existing borrowers without any collateral. The limit can be enhanced beyond Rs 10,000 at the bank’s discretion.
