<p><b>(L-R): Deputy Governors K C Chakrabarty, Shyamala Gopinath, RBI Governor D Subbarao, Subir Gokarn along with Anand Sinha, Deputy Governor RBI arriving for the credit policy meeting in Mumbai <p></b></p><p>RBI raised interest rates by a sharper-than-expected 50 basis points (bps) on Tuesday and said fighting inflation is its priority, even at the expense of short-term growth.</p><p>The rate rise was its ninth since March 2010, and exceeded market and economists' expectations for a 25 bps rise, although the case for stronger action had been building since March headline inflation reached nearly 9%.</p><p><b>KEY POINTS:</b></p><p>- Repo rate , the short-term lending rate, up 50 bps at 7.25%</p><p>- Reverse repo rate, the short-term borrowing rate, up 50 bps at 6.25%</p><p>- Cash reserve ratio, the level of deposits that commercial banks must keep with the central bank, unchanged at 6%</p><p><b>(Picture by Kamlesh Pednekar)</b></p>