India Inc says it's 'happy & delighted'

India Inc on Thursday said it was “happy and delighted” with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) keeping the key policy rates unchanged and announcing measures to pump in Rs 48,000 crore into the system.

The industry has been expressing displeasure with the string of policy rate increases by RBI to contain inflation. Terming the credit policy as “realistic and balanced,” the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry in India (Assocham) said the central bank had correctly highlighted the prevailing liquidity deficit in the system and had tried resolving the situation.

“We fully endorse RBI’s view on the play of current inflationary pressures in the country as well as the existing external and domestic economic conditions,” Chamber’s President Dilip Modi said.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said it was “happy” that repo and reverse repo rates were not raised and RBI injected liquidity into the banking system.

“This will help short-term rates to cool down and maintain stability in our macroeconomic environment,” CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said.

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry said Thursday’s credit policy was in line with industry expectations. President Ashok Kajaria hoped the injection of liquidity in the system gets transmitted to the commercial sector at cost effective rates to support the projects in line and expansion plans by the industry.

The Central bank reduced the Statutory Liquidity Ratio, portion of deposits that banks must invest in government securities, by one percentage point to 24 per cent.

Having increased key short-term lending and borrowing rates (repo and reverse repo) six times in the year, RBI, in its mid-quarter credit review on Thursday, refrained from changing them further.