RBI keeps its door open to cut rates, is watchful of incoming data

Pause for now, keeps policy stance neutral with 5-to1 vote to maintain status quo in interest rates

The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday voted five-to-one to keep interest rates unchanged, preferring to remain watchful of incoming data.

Ravindra Dholakia, an external member of the MPC and professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, was the dissenting voter.

Even as the central bank’s official policy stance continued to remain "neutral", the language used by RBI officials gave the impression to the market that the central bank had embraced an accommodative stance once again. The central bank kept the possibility of a future rate cut open as