RBI Monetary Policy Committee Meeting from April 3: What to expect on repo rate

RBI Monetary Policy Committee Meeting: The first policy meeting of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) rate-setting panel for FY25 is scheduled this week from April 3 to April 5. As per the schedule for monetary policy committee (MPC) meetings which has been announced by the RBI for the financial year 2024-25 (FY25), meetings are set for June 2024, August 2024, October 2024, December 2024 and February 2025.
The Monetary Policy Committee panel is led by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and consists of a total of six members. The RBI Governor is expected to announce the decision on April 5 at 10 am after the meeting.
RBI’s last MPC meeting for fiscal 2023-24 was conducted from February 6-8, 2024 where it was decided to keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 6.5 percent for the sixth straight meeting. The central bank cited inflationary concerns and decided to remain focused on withdrawal of accommodation to ensure the inflation progressively aligns with the target.
Five members including Dr Michael Debabrata Patra, Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, and Rajiv Ranjan voted for the status quo on the policy rate while the sixth member Jayanth R Varma voted to reduce the policy repo rate.