RBI holds rates again to keep inflation down

THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday chose to stay the course on inflation control, refusing to make any knee-jerk reaction to the growth slump reported in the second quarter with a repo rate cut.

- BENN KOCHUVEEDAN @Mumbai

RBI's monetary policy committee (MPC) led by governor Shaktikanta Das decided to maintain the repo rate at 6.5% for the 11th time on the trot. The last time it changed the repo rate—the interest rate at which RBI lends money to commercial banks—was in February 2023, when it raised it by 25 basis points. With Friday's decision to hold rates, the central bank has signaled that a growth slip in just one quarter does not warrant a course correction from its Parliament-mandated infla