RBI holds interest rates steady, says tracking inflation and government action

Last Updated : Feb 03 2015 | 6:06 PM IST

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Mumbai, Feb 03 (ANI): Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday held interest rates steady while boosting banks' liquidity in a bid to persuade them to lower lending rates after they failed to pass on the benefits of the last official rate cut three weeks ago. The RBI kept its policy repo rate unchanged at 7.75 percent, as expected by analysts, leaving its next reduction probably until after the government presents its annual budget at the end of this month. Instead, to prod banks to lend more and lower their lending rates, the RBI cut the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) - the minimum portion of net deposits that banks must hold in government bonds, cash or gold - by 50 basis points to 21.5 percent from February. 7. The RBI also announced a slew of initiatives to develop markets, including allowing foreign institutional investors to re-invest government bond coupons even when their investment limits were exhausted. The RBI described the domestic economy as "subdued", regardless of the governme