India: RBI governor Shaktikanta Das to make unscheduled address today

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das will make an unscheduled address at 10 am on Wednesday, the central bank announced in the morning.

The address by the governor comes at a time when the country is facing its worst crisis, with Covid-19 deaths mounting and most states battling it out.

Tuesday saw a massive 382,847 jump in Covid cases, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 20.65 million. There were 3,786 deaths, taking the total to 226,172. Active Covid-19 cases added up to 3.48 million.

Many states are facing a crisis in terms of hospital beds, oxygen supplies and other medical issues. There are fears that the actual number of cases may be much higher than what the official figures reveal.

The Covid crisis is also posing a major financial challenge for the country. State governments are worried about declining incomes and the centre too has been allocating huge funds for medicines and for tackling the crisis.