There is nothing that cannot be attainted by patience and equanimity, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting on Friday, quoting Mahatma Gandhi.
"At such a critical juncture, RBI has adopted a prudent and cautious approach at this meeting to wait for better visibility on growth and inflation outlook," he said, affirming the Reserve Bank of India had implemented timely measures. "Our endeavour at the Reserve Bank has always been to implement timely and carefully calibrated measures to derive the maximum impact."
Quoting Subhas Chandra Bose, Das said, "Never lose your faith in the destiny of India," and emphasised that India had successfully navigated global turmoil. "In the last few years, we have traversed one of the most difficult periods in the history of the Indian economy and, perhaps, in the global economy...It was a period of relentless trubulence and jolts, and as a country we can derive satisfaction that the Indian economy has just not navigated this period of trials successfully, but has emerged stronger."
The Das-led MPC on Friday decided to keep the benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.5% and maintained its neutral stance. In a bid to ease liquidity pressures, the committee also reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio by 50 basis points to 4%.
The standing deposit facility remains at 6.25%, and both the marginal standing facility rate and bank rate have been kept unchanged.
Despite inflation exceeding the RBI's target range of 4 (+/- 2)%, it is expected to ease in the coming months, aided by fresh market arrivals. However, food price pressures may continue to keep inflation elevated in the short term. The MPC remains committed to balancing growth and inflation in the broader interest of the economy, he said.
Das reiterated that the RBI and MPC's goal was to follow a flexible inflation targeting framework, while ensuring price stability, which remained a priority. Despite challenges, India continued to grow at over 8%, and the RBI was committed to adhering to the provisions of the law, he added.
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