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RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has kept the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the eighth time in a row, saying it will maintain a tight vigil on inflation.
This is the second monetary policy of this financial year, the first one after the high-stakes Lok Sabha election results.
The RBI’s rate-setting panel will observe the impact of global headwinds and climate shocks on economic determinants such as gross domestic product growth and food prices.
The rate increase cycle was paused in April last year after six consecutive rate hikes, aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. Announcing the second bi-monthly monetary policy for the current financial year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
He said MPC will remain watchful of elevated food inflation amid the expectation of a normal monsoon. The RBI raised the growth projection to 7.2 per cent from an earlier estimate of 7 per cent for the current financial year. The government has mandated the RBI to ensure CPI inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.
