Unanimity on rate, dissent on stance: RBI minutes

“Given the present state of the economy and its outlook — buoyant growth and benign inflation —I feel the current policy rate is appropriate,” RBI governor Sanjay Malhotra said in his statement in the minutes, adding that several recent developments on the external front have provided room for greater optimism.

- Subhana Shaikh

All six members of the monetary policy committee (MPC) backed holding the policy repo rate at 5.25%, the minutes showed. The decision follows cumulative rate cuts of 125 basis points since February 2025, with members saying transmission of the December reduction is still underway.

“The efficacy of monetary policy transmission also depends critically on the persistence and consistency of the policy signal,” MPC member Indranil Bhattacharyya said.

However, there was one dissenting voice when it came to the central bank's stance. Five members voted to retain the stance as neutral, and external member Ram Singh retained his view that the stance be changed from neutral to accommodative.