RBI MPC today: When, where to watch address of Guv Das and what to expect

RBI monetary policy time: The MPC decision will be announced by Shaktikanta Das at 10 am on Thursday

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das will announce the Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) decision on key interest rates on Thursday. This will be the first RBI MPC announcement of 2024.

In the last five RBI MPC meetings, the repo rate has been kept unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

RBI MPC meeting dates

The MPC started its three-day meeting on February 6. The meeting will conclude with the RBI governor's address on Thursday.

RBI MPC: Date and time

The policy decision will be announced on February 8 by Shaktikanta Das at 10 am. Later, a press conference will be held at noon.

RBI policy decision: What does MPC do?

The MPC has been appointed to keep the country's retail inflation within 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.

RBI monetary policy: What to expect?

Industry experts expect the RBI MPC to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent. However, there are chances that it may change its stance from "withdrawal of accommodation" to "neutral".

Pankaj Pathak, fund manager (Fixed Income), Quantum AMC, said, "We expect the RBI to keep the policy repo rate unchanged in the upcoming monetary policy. However, there is a strong case for the RBI to change its stance from 'withdrawal of accommodation' to 'neutral'."

Read here RBI MPC meet LIVE updates

George Alexander Muthoot, managing director of Muthoot Finance, added, "We believe the RBI may keep a status quo on key policy rates, however, the focus on fiscal consolidation in the recent Interim budget by the honourable finance minister, may give some headroom to the RBI to change stance to 'Neutral' from the current stance of 'withdrawal of accommodation'."

Both Pathak and Muthoot also said that the liquidity conditions have been tight for some time now, and the RBI may announce some measures to ease it.

"They have already started conducting variable rate repos auctions to provide liquidity for short durations," said Pathak. "The RBI might announce long-term repo operations or foreign exchange swaps to infuse liquidity in a time-bound manner."