The battle against inflation is not over, says the RBI governor, indicating the rate hike cycle has not peaked yet. But economists are hopeful of some respite after a likely 25 bps rate hike in February
RBI governor, Shaktikanta Das
Image: Punit Paranjpe / AFP
In its December meet, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) raised the benchmark rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 percent while retaining its stance of “withdrawal of accommodation”. It cut its growth outlook to 6.8 percent from 7 percent previously and held its inflation estimate of 6.7 percent for the current fiscal year (see table). Interestingly, on Tuesday, the World Bank increased its FY23 GDP forecast for India to 6.9 percent from 6.5 percent in October.