Under enigmatic governor Urjit Patel, Indians fail to read RBI policy

Some market watchers say it is early in Patel's tenure and that he should be given more time.

Denny Jose, a small-town caterer in Kerala, was closely watching the RBI meeting last week.

Newspapers and markets were forecasting the Reserve Bank of India would cut its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point. But the RBI held rates and moved to a "neutral" policy stance, signalling an end to India's longest monetary easing cycle since the 2008-09 global financial crisis.

The move surprised Jose and crimped his expansion plans.

"We were planning to buy two commercial vehicles to transport food and were expecting a rate cut. Now, we're forced to defer that plan."

He was not the only one wrong-footed.

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