A R DAS
The Reserve Bank of India today decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.50 per cent for the tenth time in a row. Consequently, the standing deposit facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25 percent and the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at 6.75 per cent. The RBI has maintained status quo on benchmark interest rate since February 2023.
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided to change the monetary policy stance to ‘neutral’ and to remain unambiguously focused on a durable alignment of inflation with the target, while supporting growth. These decisions are in consonance with the objective of achieving the medium term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation of 4 per cent within a band of plus or minus 2 per cent, while supporting growth.
The RBI statement issued today also mentioned that the real gross domestic product (GDP) registered a growth of 6.7 per cent in the first quarter of financial year 2024-25, driven by private consumption and investment. MPC met on 7th, 8th and 9th of October. The next meeting of the MPC is scheduled for 4th to 6th of December 2024.