04 June,2021 11:07 AM IST | Mumbai | PTI
Reserve Bank of India
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday decided to leave benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent but maintained an accommodative stance as the economy faces heat of the second Covid-19 wave.
This is the sixth time in a row that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has maintained status quo. RBI had last revised its policy rate on May 22, 2020, in an off-policy cycle to perk up demand by cutting interest rate to a historic low.
MPC decided to maintain status quo, that is keeping benchmark repurchase (repo) rate at 4 per cent, Das said while announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy review on Friday.
Consequently, the reverse repo rate will also continue to earn 3.35 per cent for banks for their deposits kept with RBI.
ALSO READ
How Manmohan Singh used to visit Mumbai's Strand Book Stall while he was RBI guv
Mumbai public holiday alert: BSE, courts, banks closed for Christmas, New Year
Rupee falls to 84.83 against US dollar amid weak equities and high crude prices
Reserve Bank of India receives bomb threat in Russian language
Rupee recovers from all-time low, appreciates to 84.83 against US dollar
Das said MPC voted unanimously for keeping interest rate unchanged and decided to continue with its accommodative stance as long as necessary to support growth and keep inflation within the target.
The central bank lowered its estimate for economic growth to 9.5 per cent for the current fiscal from earlier projection of 10.5 per cent due to the impact of the second Covid-19 wave.
This is the first MPC meeting after official data showed that Indian economy contracted 7.3 per cent in the last fiscal, weighed down by nationwide lockdown that pummelled consumption and halted most economic activities.
With regard to inflation, the governor said that retail inflation is likely to be 5.1 per cent during the current fiscal.
MPC has been given the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2026, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and a lower tolerance of 2 per cent.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.
