RBI keeps powder dry for future cuts, show minutes

India's monetary policy committee unanimously voted to keep interest rates unchanged earlier this month to keep the powder dry and leave room for future cuts depending on the situation, showed minutes released on Wednesday.

- Shayan Ghosh [e-mail]

However, there were differences around the stance of the monetary policy among members of the panel of six, with two external candidates—Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh—in favour of changing it from neutral to accommodative. An accommodative stance would signal that the central bank supports growth and indicates that interest rates could go down, whereas a neutral stance allows the rate-setting panel to decide the course based on fresh data.

“There is elevated uncertainty on the external front,” said governor Sanjay Malhotra. “...even though there is policy space to further cut the policy rate, I feel this is not the opportune time for the same as it will not have the desirable impact.”