The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent. On Friday, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the decisions of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
4 out of 6 MPC members agreed to keep interest rates steady. Interest rates remained unchanged for the eighth consecutive time by the central bank. The repo rate was last revised in February 2023, when it was raised by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent.
The decision to maintain the withdrawal of accommodation stance of monetary policy has been confirmed by the RBI Governor.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday began a three-day meeting for June 5 to June 7, 2024, to decide the next monetary policy.
Announcing the MPC decision, the RBI governor projected real GDP growth at 7.2% in FY25, up from the previous estimate of 7%. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said investment activity is witnessing steady growth and private consumption is improving with steady spending in urban areas.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said that MPC plays an important role in bringing down inflation. He further said that recently the prices of vegetables are increasing due to heat.
Regarding the GDP growth rate, Shaktikanta Das said that the Indian economy has grown at the rate of 8.2 percent in the financial year 2023-24 and we believe that the Indian GDP can grow at the rate of 7.2 percent in the current financial year. RBI has raised the GDP estimate by 0.20 percent for the financial year 2024-25. Earlier it was 7.00 percent.
The GDP growth rate is estimated to be 7.3 percent in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, 7.2 percent in the second quarter, 7.3 percent in the third quarter and 7.2 percent in the fourth quarter.
The RBI has estimated that the inflation rate could be 4.5 percent in the financial year 2024-25. The inflation rate is estimated to be 4.9 percent in the first quarter of the fiscal year, 3.8 percent in the second quarter, 4.6 percent in the third quarter and 4.5 percent in the fourth quarter.