RBI Monetary Policy Meeting 2023: In a 3-day meeting with Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das, 6 members of RBI have decided not to make the loan expensive. This is the second consecutive time when the repo rate was kept constant and the entire emphasis was on containing inflation.
New Delhi. After a meeting that lasted for 3 days, the Reserve Bank has finally taken a decision in the interest of the common man. Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das told on Thursday after the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) that no change is being made in the repo rate. This will provide great relief to the people who are suffering from inflation. This is the second time in a row that the Reserve Bank has kept the repo rate constant.
The MPC meeting of the Reserve Bank started on Tuesday and after brainstorming for 3 days, it was concluded that now is not the right time to burden the common man with expensive loans. Therefore, no change was made in the repo rate and it has been maintained at 6.5 percent. This means that the common man’s home loan, auto loan or any other type of retail loan will not be expensive and they will not be burdened with EMI. In 2023, RBI has already increased the repo rate by 2.5 percent. 5 out of 6 members in the committee have voted in favor of keeping the rate constant.
The biggest challenge is to stop inflation
RBI Governor Das has clearly said that right now his focus is on stopping inflation. The governor told that our target is to bring down the rate of retail inflation to 4 percent. Right now the inflation rate is above our target, so we will keep the loan interest rates stable. Due to retail inflation, the burden of expenditure on the common man has increased. In such a situation, it would not be right to increase the burden of EMI.
Emphasis on the strength of banks
The RBI governor, realizing the danger of worldwide recession, laid more emphasis on maintaining the strength and stability of the banking sector. This is the reason why the Standing Deposit Facility (SDF) of banks has been kept constant at 6.25 per cent and the Marginal Standing Facility rate (MSF) at 6.75 per cent. The Governor said one more thing in his speech that the emphasis of the Monetary Committee is on gradually ending the facilities and it will be implemented only on need.
The challenge of rising inflation
The governor once again told inflation to be the biggest challenge. He said that even though our target is to bring down the rate of retail inflation to 4 per cent, the reality is showing the opposite. The estimate of retail inflation for 2023-24 has increased from 5.1 percent to 5.4 percent. The risk of rising inflation will remain in the future as stability is still not visible in the global market.
Growth rate estimated at 6.5 percent
The RBI governor has kept the country’s growth rate forecast stable as before and has said that the growth rate will remain at 6.5 percent in the current financial year. It is estimated to be 8 percent in the first quarter April-June, which is the highest in the entire financial year. As the year progresses, the pace of growth will also slow down. It is estimated to be 5.7 percent in the last quarter January-March.
