Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das has said the move, announced along with the bi-monthly policy review, was the best option under the current circumstances and there is enough liquidity in the system for the banks to continue their lending operations. Das said ‘We will have to go beyond Arjuna’s eyes and act quickly if the spiraling vegetable prices become more widespread and become generalized, forcing us to deploy any appropriate tool under our command to tame it and that it may not just be a rate hike, but any tool under our command will be deployed’.

The Governor further noted that ‘the job on inflation is still not done. Inflationary risks persist amidst volatile international food and energy prices, lingering geopolitical tensions and weather-related uncertainties.’ He said one of the reasons for the spike in liquidity is due to the fact that over 90 per cent of the Rs 3.6 lakh crore of the Rs 2,000 banknotes withdrawn on May 19, have come back to banks.

He assured that the public won’t face any crunch as they prepare for the long festive season nor will the system and industry face any liquidity issue to pay the advance tax (September 15) or GST (September 20). He added ‘We have done our internal assessment which showed that there will still be adequate liquidity left with the banking system’.

A Personal Data Protection (PDP) Bill was introduced in 2018 and tabled in 2019, after which it was referred to a joint parliamentary committee. The panel studied the bill for two years and presented its report and a modified PDP Bill in December 2021.

But in 2022, the government withdrew the PDP Bill, citing compliance-related reasons and came out with the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill after a few months. The cabinet approved the bill in July, clearing its way to be tabled in the ongoing monsoon session.