Monetary policy committee had recommended no change in the key rate.
In September, the headline inflation accelerated to a seven-month high of 6.46 per cent, while the retail inflation quickened to 9.84 per cent.
Reserve Bank on Tuesday kept the bank rate and CRR unchanged, but hiked repo and reverse repo rate by 0.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent and 6.5 per cent respectively as part of measures to rein in inflation.
Private sector lender IDFC First Bank has lowered its savings account rates and introduced new slabs for small and medium balance categories, effective January 9, 2025, as per its website. The interest slabs and rates for higher balance accounts remain unchanged. Despite the revision, the bank continues to offer one of the highest savings account interest rates in the industry among mid-sized banks.
With retail inflation surprising on the upside, the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to increase the repo rate by 35-50 basis points (bps) in the review scheduled for September 28-30. According to economists, the central bank will continue to focus on bringing inflation down even though economic growth has remained sluggish. Data released by the government on Monday showed that the consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation increased by 7 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in August, thus, staying above the upper tolerance limit of the central bank for all the eight months of 2022.
The net liquidity surplus in the banking system fell to Rs 16,875 crore on Thursday the latest data by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) showed, lowest since 22 January.
'The government's decision to keep interest rates unchanged on small savings schemes will certainly constrain banks' ability to cut deposit rates further.'
Reserve Bank of India Governor Bimal Jalan said on Friday that there was no proposal to lower the short-term benchmark repo rate now.
Given the relevance of bank deposits for Indian savers, whether the regulator would permit linking savings interest rate to a repo-like structure needs to be seen, as a move of this nature could increase volatility in savings also.
Expressing disappointment over the hike in repo rate by the RBI, India Inc on Friday said a rate cut by the bank would have helped ameliorate sentiments as businesses are "reeling" under a tight liquidity crunch due to high cost of capital.
The Reserve Bank of India on Saturday decided to reduce the one-day and 14-day repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility by 0.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent with effect from Monday.
Markets will look for clear guidance on how the MPC interprets the uncertainty and what it implies for the future course of monetary policy, points out Rajeswari Sengupta.
IT majors and Maruti Suzuki down 8% were the top losers among Sensex-30.
Activity in the corporate bond market is set to gain momentum following a 25-bp policy repo rate cut by the rate-setting panel of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). State-owned public cebPower Finance Corporation (PFC) and Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) are planning to raise up to Rs 11,500 crore through bonds on Tuesday as issuers expect borrowing costs to ease.
Bank lending to companies is expected to go up in the coming quarters because the difference in interest rates between corporate bonds and bank loans has narrowed. In addition, recent policy reforms by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), including allowing domestic banks to do acquisition financing, are expected to give further support to corporate lending, analysts said.
Higher for longer' may be the narrative in the developed markets, but interest rates might not stay high for very long in India, with a section of the market expecting rate cuts to begin this year. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 6.5 per cent in the April review - after hiking the policy repo rate in six previous meetings. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das emphasised that the pause was only for the April policy and that the central bank was ready to act if the situation demanded.
Reserve Bank of India chief Bimal Jalan reiterated on Monday the bank's soft monetary bias but said there was no immediate plan to cut the short-term repo rate.
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday decided to keep the policy rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent for the fifth time in a row as it maintains a tight vigil on inflation. The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes, aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022. Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.
Passenger vehicle sales in India reached a record high of 4.7 million units in FY26, boosted by strong performances from major automakers and the implementation of GST 2.0.
In January, the RBI hiked its cash reserve ratio or the amount banks keep with the central bank by 0.75 per cent to 5.75 per cent.
Reserve Bank of India cut interest rates for a third time this year.
Hiring demand strongest in ecommerce, tech startups, healthcare, and energy sectors, with Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune leading.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra, and Deputy Governors Poonam Gupta, T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J, and S C Murmu on Friday addressed issues during the post-policy media interaction.
'Economic activity appears to have peaked in the second quarter of FY26, with industrial output, exports, and business confidence all softening from October 2025.'
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that the 0.25 per cent hike in repo rates by the Reserve Bank of India
Banking shares are down up to 11% after the Reserve Bank of India has increased the policy repo rate by 25 basis points from 7.25% to 7.5% with immediate effect.
From the Sensex firms, State Bank of India, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Maruti, HCL Tech, Larsen & Toubro, Mahindra & Mahindra and Infosys were among the major winners. However, Hindustan Unilever, Eternal, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
The central bank deputy chief said on Monday that the monetary authorities were unlikely to lower the repo rate from the current five per cent for quite some time.\n\n\n\n
India's central bank kept its key repo lending rate unchanged at 6.75 percent on Tuesday.
A neutral monetary policy stance, heavy government borrowing, and issuers adjusting to a higher-for-longer yield environment have set the stage for a largely stable corporate bond market in 2026.
Banks are witnessing a surge in hiring for sales staff in secured segments such as home, vehicle and gold loans as compared to the recovery category, driven by a boost in business growth, and a host of regulatory measures aimed at improving ease of doing business, according to industry experts.
India Inc on Friday said it is looking forward to a repo rate cut in future as cost of funds has to come down in coming times, and expects continuation of accommodative policy stance by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The RBI decided to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent but maintained an accommodative stance, as the economy faces the brunt of the second COVID-19 wave. Sanjay Aggarwal, president of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the RBI has maintained an accommodative stance as long as necessary to revive and sustain growth on a durable basis and to mitigate impact of COVID-19, apart from an aim to keep inflation within the target.
The move will to a large extent speed up the monetary transmission process--which is banks passing on the rate cuts that the Reserve Bank announces to their borrowers without much delays--something that has been missing all these while and something that the RBI has been unhappy with.
Banks and realty among the most hit on account of high borrowing costs.
The MPC headed by RBI Governor Urjit Patel said that the recent excise duty cut by the government on petrol and diesel will help contain inflation.
Stock markets closed higher on Friday after the Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged as expected and proposed allowing banks to lend to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) with certain prudential safeguards to deepen the financing pool for the real estate sector.
RBI said inflation in the second half of the current fiscal is projected at 2.7-3.2%. It retained its GDP forecast for the current fiscal at 7.4%
Even if the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee decided to hold interest rates in the October meeting, it acknowledged the scope for further rate cuts while waiting for the impact of the past steps to play out.
Reserve Bank of India governor, Bimal Jalan, said on Monday there was no proposal to cut the repo rate as of now and added the bank's bias towards soft rates would continue.
Home purchase affordability has improved in the first half of calendar year (CY) 2025, after the RBI reduced the repo rate by 100 basis points (bps), according to real estate consultancy Knight Frank India.
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