The members of the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy committee members differed over what the apex bank’s stance on growth and inflation outlook should be, at a meeting on October 3 and 4.
The panel voted 5-1 in favour of leaving the repo rate unchanged at 6%. A majority of the members said there is an increased risk of inflation, the minutes of the meeting released by RBI on Wednesday said. The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks if there is a shortfall of funds. The RBI uses the repo rate to control inflation.
There is a rise in headline inflation in the last two months, RBI Governor Urjit Patel said. “We have to be vigilant on account of uncertainties on the external and fiscal fronts; this calls for a cautious approach,” he said. “I vote for keeping the policy repo rate on hold.”
Earlier this month, the RBI kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged on fears of rising inflation, and lowered growth forecast to 6.7% for the current fiscal.
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