RBI’s battles with inflation

Reserve Bank of India governor announced that the central bank decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday addressed a key briefing on the decision taken by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in the meeting that took place between February 6-8.

The five big announcements made by the governor are that the central bank has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged for the sixth consecutive time. “On the basis of an assessment of the current and evolving macroeconomic situation, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting today (February 8, 2024) decided to keep the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) unchanged at 6.50 per cent. The MPC also decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure that inflation progressively aligns to the target, while supporting growth,” Das said.

The RBI has projected a GDP growth of 7 per cent for 2024-25 financial year, lower than the 7.3 per cent expansion estimated for the current fiscal. “Rural demand continues to gather pace, urban consumption remains strong and investment cycle is gaining steam on the back of increased capex,” the governor said. The real GDP for 2024-25 is projected to grow at 7 per cent, with June and September quarters growth at 7.2 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively, according to the RBI.

On retail inflation, the governor said that consumer price index (CPI) inflation for 2024-25 is projected at 4.5 per cent. “Assuming a normal monsoon next year, CPI inflation for 2024-25 is projected at 4.5 per cent with Q1 at 5 per cent; Q2 at 4 per cent; Q3 at 4.6 per cent; and Q4 at 4.7 per cent . The risks are evenly balanced,” the governor said in his statement.

The RBI governor announced that India’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $622.5 billion as on February 2. “Vulnerability indicators suggest greater resilience of India’s external sector. We are confident of comfortably meeting all our external financing requirements,” he added.

The RBI has proposed a principle-based framework for the authentication of digital transactions. “Over the years, the Reserve Bank has proactively facilitated introduction of various mechanisms such as Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) for securing digital payments. While no particular mechanism was specified by the Reserve Bank, SMS-based OTP has become very popular,” the governor added.