Just In: RBI`s MPC keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for eight consecutive time
The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the eight consecutive time. This is the first time the MPC met after the results of the Lok Sabha election were declared. The monetary policy stance continues to be ‘withdrawal of accommodation’. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that the headline inflation continues to be in a disinflation trajectory. The RBI MPC also kept the SDF unchanged at 6.25 per cent, and MSF and Bank Rates maintained at 6.75 per cent. The SDF is the lower band of the interest rate corridor, while the MSF is the upper band.
On the inflation front, the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee has retained the inflation forecast for April-March 2024-25 (FY25) at 4.5%. RBI’s quarterly inflation projections also remain unchanged as follows: Q1FY25 at 4.9%; Q2FY25 at 3.8%; Q3FY25 at 4.6%; and Q4FY25 at 4.5%. On the economic growth front, the RBI has raised projection of real gross domestic product (GDP) for the FY25 to 7.2%, from 7% estimated previously. The GDP growth in Q1FY25 is projected to be at 7.3%, 7.2% in Q2FY25 , 7.3% in Q3FY25 and 7.2% in Q4FY25.