Last Updated: October 09, 2024, 08:21 IST
The reconstituted rate-setting panel of the Reserve Bank on Monday started deliberations on the next bi-monthly monetary policy amid expectations of a status quo on interest rates in view of inflationary concerns and the possibility of a flare-up in the Middle East crisis that could jack up commodity prices.
The Monetary Policy Committee will reveal the outcome of the three-day discussion today.
Experts feel that the RBI may not follow the US Federal Reserve, which lowered the benchmark rates by 50 basis points, and the central banks of some developed nations, which have reduced the interest rates.
Earlier this month, the government reconstituted the MPC.
It has appointed Ram Singh, Saugata Bhattacharya, and Nagesh Kumar as external members of the MPC, replacing Ashima Goyal, Shashanka Bhide, and Jayanth R Varma.
Apart from Governor Shaktikanta Das, the other internal members are the RBI Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy Michael Debabrata Patra and the Executive Director monetary policy department of RBI Rajiv Ranjan.
The central bank has kept the repo or short-term lending rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent since February 2023, and experts think some easing could only be possible in December.
