New Delhi: The three-day review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das is going on for the second day. In this meeting, a decision is to be taken regarding the policy interest rate, which will be announced by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das at 10 am on Wednesday.
The RBI tweeted on Tuesday that RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will give information about the decision taken in the MPC meeting through a press conference on Wednesday, February 8 at 10 am. In fact, the three-day meeting of the six-member MPC chaired by Shaktikanta Das began on February 6. Meanwhile, economic experts believe that RBI can once again increase the repo rate by 0.25 percent.
According to economic experts, the retail inflation rate has come down below the satisfactory level of six per cent of the Reserve Bank. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth is expected to slow down in the next fiscal year 2023-24, starting April 1. In such a situation, the Reserve Bank can choose the option of increasing the repo rate by 0.25 percent. However, according to a report by the Economic Research Department of the State Bank of India (SBI), the RBI will hold off on raising interest rates in the February policy review. In such a situation, people’s hopes are pinned on the results of the MPC meeting.
The Reserve Bank increased the repo rate by 2.25 per cent from May to December last year, which has reached the level of 6.25 per cent. The direct impact of the increase in the repo rate falls on the pocket of the common man. After the increase in the repo rate, banks also make loans costlier for the customers. At present, home loan interest rates in most banks are above 8.50 per cent. If the policy interest rate increases again, home loans will become more expensive.
