RBI to announce first bi-monthly monetary policy of 2019-20 shortly Today

The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce its first bi-monthly monetary policy of 2019-20 on Thursday. The MPC will announce the resolution of the meeting at around 11.45 today. The RBI MPC's three-day meeting started on Tuesday with the Investors hoping that the central bank will go for a 25 bps rate cut in its monetary policy announcement.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das had reduced the repo rate – rate at which RBI lends to banks –by 25 basis points in February. The interest rate was slashed after a gap of 18 months.

Das has already el meetings with stakeholders including ahead of the policy announcement. As per Industry estimates, RBI may go for a reo rate cut since inflation is well below the central bank's mandate of 4 percent.

News Agency PTI, quoting ratings firm ICRA, said that the RBI could go for a 25 bps rate cut in the upcoming meeting of monetary policy committee.

Director General of CII Chandrajit Banerjee said, "In view of the visible signs of a growth slowdown in the second half of 2018-19, it is requested that the RBI should reduce the repo rate by at least 25 basis points in the upcoming policy and maintain a softening trend in monetary policy."