On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced it would keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% for the 11th consecutive time. This decision comes despite the GDP growth rate for the July-September quarter falling to a 7-quarter low of 5.4%, which was below the RBI's earlier projection of 7%. The RBI paused its rate hike cycle in April last year after raising rates by 250 basis points since May 2022.

In the fifth bi-monthly monetary policy review for the current fiscal year, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das stated that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) would maintain a neutral policy stance and closely monitor incoming macroeconomic data for future action. The RBI also sharply reduced its GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal from 7.2% to 6.6%, while raising the inflation target from 4.5% to 4.8%.

To encourage economic activity, the RBI reduced the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) from 4.5% to 4%, releasing Rs 1.16 lakh crore to banks. This move aims to enhance the banks' lending capacity and stimulate growth.

This meeting marked the second time the reconstituted MPC panel met, which now includes three newly appointed external members: Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya, and Nagesh Kumar.