RBI's Monetary Policy Committee meet: Date, time, members, and agenda

RBI began its fourth Monetary Policy Committee meeting for the ongoing financial year on Monday. Key announcement from the meet will be announced on Oct 9

The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) began its three-day deliberations on Monday. Led by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, the committee is expected to decide on key areas including interest rates, inflation, and global oil prices, as well as the country’s growth outlook. The decisions from this meet will be announced on Wednesday.

ALSO READ: Monetary policy: RBI holds repo rates again, cites food inflation risks
 

This marks the fourth RBI MPC meeting of the financial year 2024-25. The central bank holds six bi-monthly meetings annually, reviewing various macroeconomic indicators. Previous meetings this financial year took place in April, June, and August, with subsequent meetings scheduled for December and February. The six-member MPC began discussions on October 7, with the meeting set to conclude on October 9.

RBI MPC Oct meet: Three new members inducted

Three new members were inducted into the MPC, replacing outgoing external members. Economist Saugata Bhattacharya, Dr Nagesh Kumar, director and chief executive at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, and Ram Singh, director of the Delhi School of Economics, now join Governor Das, executive director Rajiv Ranjan, and Deputy Governor Michael Debabrata Patra on the panel.

RBI MPC Oct meet: Key topic of meeting

The MPC is set to discuss key issues influencing India’s monetary policy. That includes inflationary pressures on food and fuel, rising crude oil prices, and tensions in West Asia. The meeting will also provide insight into India’s broader economic growth trajectory.

Reports indicate that market analysts expect the central bank to maintain its current ‘wait-and-watch’ stance. However, some believe that the persistent inflationary concerns could prompt a potential rate hike.

Nomura’s Sonal Verma expects a rate-cutting cycle to begin in October, while HDFC Bank sees possible policy accommodation if food inflation is controlled.

What were the highlights of the last RBI MPC meet?

In its 50th monetary policy review, the RBI’s MPC decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, maintaining its ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ stance. This was primarily due to food inflation-related concerns. External members Jayanth Varma and Ashima Goyal had advocated for a 25-basis-point rate cut and a neutral stance.

Despite inflationary pressures being considered temporary, the RBI lowered growth expectations for the June quarter from 7.3 per cent to 7.1 per cent. The MPC cited weaker corporate profitability and government expenditure for this change.

Governor Shaktikanta Das also warned lenders against excessive reliance on short-term deposits and highlighted non-compliance with top-up loan norms by certain financial entities.

RBI MPC Oct meet: When and where to watch?

The decision on interest rates will be announced by Governor Das at 10 am on October 9, followed by a press conference at noon. Both the announcement and the press briefing will be live-streamed across the RBI’s official social media channels, including YouTube, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter).
 

Follow Business Standard for the latest updates.