India Central Bank Keeps Rates On Hold

(RTTNews) - The Reserve Bank of India decided to hold its benchmark rates on Friday, following a quarter-point reduction in December.

The Monetary Policy Committee, governed by Sanjay Malhotra, unanimously decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. The MPC also voted to continue with the neutral stance.

"Based on a comprehensive review of the domestic macroeconomic conditions and the outlook, the MPC is of the view that the current policy rate is appropriate," the bank said in a statement.

CPI inflation for 2025-26 was projected at 2.1 percent, slightly higher than the 2 percent estimate in December. The slight upward revision was primarily due to the rise in precious metal prices.

Policymakers observed that excluding precious metals, the underlying inflation pressures remain muted.

Real GDP growth projections for the first and the second quarters of fiscal year 2026-27 were revised upwards to 6.9 percent and 7.0 percent, respectively.