) preserve financial stability. ” the statement unfurled several other measures to combat the pandemic while providing the much needed optimism by stating “ it is worthwhile to remember that tough times never last ; only tough people and tough institutions do ”. the message was clear – we need to stand firm, maintain resilience and do whatever it takes to deal with the situation. 18. these decisive and timely measures, which eased financial conditions while unfreezing the markets considerably, got reflected in reduced spreads on money and bond market instruments and higher trading volumes in corporate bonds. reiterating optimism, it was noted in my april 17, 2020 statement that “ although social distancing separates us, we stand united and resolute. eventually, we shall cure ; and we shall endure ”. in may 2020, sensing that “ the macroeconomic impact of the pandemic is turning out to be more severe than initially anticipated ”, the mpc decided to reduce the policy repo rate further by 40 basis points. the governor ’ s statement concluded with the words “ today ’ s trials may be traumatic, but together we shall triumph ”. 19. the reserve bank ’ s response at the height of the pandemic was prompt and decisive. more than 100 measures were undertaken since march 2020. moreover, on two occasions – march and may 2020 – the mpc meetings were held ahead of the schedule ; while two other standalone statements were made by the governor outside the monetary policy committee ( mpc ) cycle – one in april 2020 in the early days of covid - 19 crisis and the other in may 2021 at the peak of the second wave. these off cycle mpc meetings and standalone statements demonstrated the rbi ’ s readiness to undertake pre - emptive actions. we were perhaps the only central bank in the world to have set up a special quarantine facility with about 200 officers, staff and service providers, engaged in critical activities to ensure business continuity in banking and financial market operations and payment systems. 20. in october 2020, supply - side pressures had taken inflation above the tolerance band of 2 to 6 per cent and there were market concerns over the continuation of the accommodative monetary policy stance, even as output was well - below its pre - pandemic level. given these circumstances, the mpc reinforced its forward guidance by supplementing statecontingent forward guidance with time - contingent guidance by stating its intent to continue “ with the accommodative stance

enough on irrigation and what we are is not being utilised efficiently. " " in addition to investment in irrigation, we must take steps to conserve water and promote artificial recharge in rain fed areas. " " other issues on the agriculture agenda identified in the approach paper relate to the need for focused research in specific crops, farming systems and dry land farming practices, improved extension work to close the knowledge deficit affecting farm productivity ; better seeds and inputs ; enhanced facilities for credit, including revamping the co - operative credit system ; initiatives to support agricultural diversification with effective marketing solutions ; and completing the unfinished agenda of land reforms etc ". the four deficits before concluding this section, i would like to invite your attention to land - mark observations made by the prime minister in his address at 2nd agriculture summit on october 18, 2006, wherein he develops the four deficits theme. " when we review our agricultural situation, it is clear that there are four deficits we need to bridge. these four deficits are ( i ) the public investment and credit deficit ; ( ii ) the infrastructure deficit ; ( iii ) the market economy deficit ; and ( iv ) the knowledge deficit. taken together they are responsible for the development deficit in the agrarian and rural economy. " " however, we need more thinking on the credit front. while the financial system should do more for the credit needs of farmers, we need to raise some questions. what do farmers need – a lower rate of interest or reliable access to credit at reasonable rates? is our existing institutional framework adequate for meeting the requirements of our farmers who are a diverse lot? do we need to create new institutional structures such as shgs, micro finance institutions, etc, to provide improved and reliable access to credit? or do we need to bring in money lenders under some form of regulation? it is necessary that we find answers to these questions in the near future. " new realities it is useful to recognise that there are unprecedented structural changes in the fast - growing domestic economy and rapidly - integrating global economy. these throw up what may be called new realities but these have to be met ( a ) without losing sight of large population currently dependent on agriculture ; and ( b ) the medium - term trend towards lower share of gdp generation in agriculture. thus, while some short - term actions may be warranted to be sensitive to aspirations and expectations in rural areas, medium to longer - term strategies have to take into account what may be termed as new realities,