Zoom News : Apr 20, 2024, 09:13 AM
Business News: Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that there is a need to make the success achieved on the inflation front sustainable. Das said this while voting to maintain status quo in the policy rate at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting earlier this month. The Reserve Bank of India released the details of the MPC meeting on Friday. Accordingly, other members expressed concern over the impact on prices of political developments at the global level.Repo rate remains unchanged since FebruaryAfter the three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the Reserve Bank decided to maintain the policy repo rate at 6.5 percent. The repo rate has remained at this level since February 2023 amid concerns over inflation. "To bring down inflation, the gains made in the last two years will have to be maintained," Das said. Work will have to be done to bring down the headline inflation to the target of four per cent on a sustainable basis. Five of the six MPC members had voted in favor of status quo in the policy rate.Jayant Verma had talked about cutsMPC member Jayant R Verma, however, had advocated a cut in the repo rate by 0.25 per cent. His argument was that high interest rates affect growth. According to the details, in the meeting, Das said that inflation may come down to 4.5 percent in 2024-25. He also said that ongoing global tensions and their impact on commodity prices and supply chains are also increasing uncertainties regarding inflation.These are the members of MPShashank Bhide, Ashima Goyal and Jayant R Verma are outside members in the MPC. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra and Executive Director Rajiv Ranjan represent the central bank. Patra said that there is no situation yet for any reduction in the restrictive stance of monetary policy. Goyal said global trade appears to be improving, but growth remains mixed and geopolitical risks remain.