RBI Holds Repo Rate Steady at 5.25%, Projects GDP Growth at 6.9%

The Reserve Bank of India has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced following the first bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the fiscal year. The committee unanimously voted to retain a neutral stance, with the standing deposit facility rate remaining at 5 percent and the marginal standing facility and bank rate holding at 5.50 percent.

The MPC projected GDP growth for the current fiscal year at 6.9 percent, with CPI inflation expected at 4.6 percent. Malhotra noted that persistently elevated energy prices linked to the West Asia conflict, along with possible El Niño conditions, pose upside risks to the inflation outlook, though he emphasised that the fundamentals of the Indian economy remain on a stronger footing than in previous periods of global stress.