Indian The Reserve Bank (RBI) will announce the decisions taken in the bi-monthly review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) today on Friday. The decision on the policy interest rate was taken during the three-day review meeting that began on Wednesday. This meeting took place amid rising inflation and weak GDP figures. Experts believe that the central bank may decide to keep the short-term borrowing rate i.e. repo rate stable. However, considering the mixed economic trends, the MPC may decide to make changes in the cash reserve ratio (CRR).
Last MPC meeting of Das' current tenure
The MPC is the highest decision-making body regarding monetary policy, headed by Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das. There are a total of six members in this committee including the Governor. RBI said on social media platform X that Shaktikanta Das will give information about the decisions taken in the review meeting of the MPC at 10 am on Friday. This is the last MPC meeting of Das' current tenure. His tenure ends on December 10. The Reserve Bank has kept the repo rate constant at 6.5 percent since February 2023. The government has entrusted the responsibility of RBI to ensure that retail inflation remains at four per cent with a variation of two per cent.
Less hope for rate cut
People in India have been waiting for a long time for the interest rates to reduce on all types of loans including personal loan, home loan and auto loan. If RBI cuts the repo rate, it will open the way for lower interest rates on loans. Repo rate is the rate at which RBI lends to banks and financial institutions. When banks get cheap loans, they also offer cheap loans to their customers. However, this time there seems to be little hope of a cut in the repo rate. Experts believe that there may be some relaxation in this only in 2025. A research report by SBI said, “We do not expect a rate cut in the current financial year.” The first rate cut and further changes in stance are expected in April 2025.
With inputs from PTI/Language
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