RBI MPC Meeting 2024 Highlights: Repo rate kept unchanged at 6.50% for 10th straight time, says Governor Shaktikanta Das

SENSEX gained 600 points to 82,231, while NIFTY surged 0.8% after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged for the tenth straight time but changed its stance to 'neutral' that may lead to a cut in the forthcoming policies.

"Real GDP growth for 2024-25 is projected at 7.2%, with Q2 at 7%, Q3 at 7.4% and Q4 at 7.4%. The Real GDP growth for Q1 of the next financial year 2025-26 is projected at 7.3%. The risks are evenly balanced," he said.

The RBI Governor informed media that the six-member rate-setting panel decided unanimously to change the stance of the monetary policy to neutral.

"Moderation in inflation to remain slow and uneven," he said.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the RBI Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted by a 5:1 majority to keep the repo rate static at 6.5%.

"The MPC decided, by a majority of five out of six members, to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5%. Consequently, the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) rate remains at 6.25% and the Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) rate and the bank rate they stand at 6.75%," he said.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept repo rate unchanged at 6.50%, announced Governor Shaktikanta Das.

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das addresses the media on decisions taken during the three-day Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

The Reserve Bank of India is unlikely to make changes to the repo rate on Wednesday, according to the experts.

Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, said, "We do not expect any change in the repo rate or stance by MPC. The reason is that inflation for September and October will be above 5 per cent, and the present low inflation is due to the base effect. Besides, core inflation is inching upwards."

Pradeep Aggarwal, founder and chairman, Signature Global (India) Ltd, said while the real estate industry and homebuyers are hoping for an interest rate cut in the monetary policy review, the banking regulator is likely to hold on to the interest rate cuts for the tenth consecutive time.

BSE SENSEX and NSE NIFTY50 were trading in the positive territory on Wednesday ahead of Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee's policy decision

As of 09:22 am, NIFTY50 was up 0.17%, while SENSEX surged 0.18%.

• Repo rate
• Inflation target
• GDP growth target

RBI MPC Meeting 2024 LIVE: The Reserve Bank of India's rate-setting panel, headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, will announce its bi-monthly interest rate decision on Wednesday, October 9.

The RBI has kept the repo rate static at 6.5% since February 2023. According to experts, some easing could only be possible in December.

Earlier this month, the government appointed Saugata Bhattacharya, Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh as the external members of the MPC. They replaced Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal and Jayanth R Varma.

Apart from Governor Shaktikanta Das, Michael Debabrata Patra, the RBI Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy and Rajiv Ranjan, the Executive Director of the RBI monetary policy department, Rajiv Ranjan, are internal committee members.