RBI's Rajan: Inter-meeting rate cut only in case of urgency

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) does have the option of an inter-meeting rate cut, but such a step is usually taken only in case of a "great sense" of urgency, to signal a change in policy direction, Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Tuesday.

The central bank left the key repo rate steady at 6.75 percent, opting to wait until after the government's annual budget statement at the end of February to decide on whether to cut interest rates further.

Expectations of a post-budget rate cut have surfaced after Rajan said further room for rate cuts would open up if the forthcoming budget came up with structural reforms to help boost growth and contain inflation.

Rajan, along with key deputies, was addressing a teleconference with analysts after the policy announcement.

(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta, Swati Bhat, and Suvashree Dey Choudhury; Editing by Sunil Nair)