NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India's move to cut interest rates by 25 basis points signals the beginning of a low interest rate regime, the trade minister said on Thursday.
"(The) RBI's rate cut signals the beginning of a low interest regime and is highly encouraging for industry and economy," Nirmala Sitharaman said in a Twitter post, published by her ministry.
Earlier, acting ahead of a scheduled monetary policy meeting on Feb. 3 and the federal annual budget statement late next month, the central bank surprised markets by lowering the repo rate - its key lending rate - to 7.75 percent from 8.0 percent, where it had been for the past year.
(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Malini Menon)