Published 10:18 IST, March 27th 2020
BREAKING: RBI cuts Repo Rate by massive 75 bps to 4.4% to revive growth amid Coronavirus
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a 'sizeable reduction' in the policy repo rate of the country, slashing it by 75 points to 4.4%, RBI governor said
- Economy News
- 2 min read
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a 'sizeable reduction' in the policy repo rate of the country, slashing it by 75 base points to 4.4%, RBI governor Shaktikanta Das announced on Friday. Addressing the media via a video conference, the RBI governor revealed that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which preponed its meeting, voted in a majority of 4:2 to have a sizeable deduction in the policy repo rate. The reverse repo rate was slashed by 90 base points to 4%.
The latest rate cut is by far the biggest by the central bank among a series of cuts that have been a highlight of Shaktikanta Das' tenure as Governor. However, the latest measure, which has come as an emergency measure and not within the RBI's bi-monthly policy-review framework, is three times the size of the cut generally applied.
Repo rate slashed
This comes after minutes after influential Moody's Investors Service slashed India's 2020 GDP growth projection from its earlier forecast of 5.3% to 2.5% amid the global Coronavirus pandemic. The Indian government had earlier projected GDP growth at 5% in 2019-20 as compared to 6.1% in 2018-19. Q3 had witnessed a 4.7% growth. India has announced a Rs 1.7 lakh crore Coronavirus relief package, split between assuring food security and Direct Benefit Transfer cash-transfer as the country observes a 21-day lockdown to combat COVID-19, of which over 700 infections have been confirmed thus far.
Updated 10:23 IST, March 27th 2020