The last mile

Climate issues can complicate monetary policy

The outcome of the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the financial year did not surprise anyone. Nevertheless, the tone of the RBI governor’s statement, the monetary policy resolution, and the post-policy media interaction by RBI officials suggested that the MPC was determined to achieve the legally mandated target of 4 per cent inflation rate on a durable basis, which must be welcomed. As a result, the MPC left the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the seventh consecutive time. Given that the MPC expects the Indian economy to grow 7