(PTI)
The Reserve Bank lowered the policy rate by 25 bps to make the most of the space offered by the softening in prices, and will deliver more on the rate front if its lower inflation estimates are achieved, governor Shaktikanta Das said Thursday. The surprise 25 basis points rate cut to 6.25 percent is a measure to broad base credit growth across all the sectors of the economy that’s gathering more steam now, the governor said.
“The favourable macroeconomic configuration that is evolving underscores the need to act now when it is most opportune…it is vital to act decisively and in a timely manner to address the objective of growth once the objective of price stability,” Das told reporters in the customary post-policy press interaction which was his first after taking over on December 12, 2018. The former finance secretary-turned governor explained that the price stability is defined as keeping the headline inflation number at the mandated 4 percent in the medium-term and asserted that the Monetary Policy Committee has not done anything beyond the provisions of the RBI Act.
