The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India is scheduled to announce its policy decision on Friday, December 8, following the commencement of its meeting on December 6. The primary objective of the RBI MPC is to establish a repo rate aimed at managing inflation and fostering economic growth within the country.
Comprising six members, the MPC consists of three internal and three external members, with leadership provided by the RBI governor. The current internal members include Shaktikanta Das, Rajiv Ranjan, and Michael Debabrata Panda. External representation is through Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, and Jayanth R Varma.
Announcement of RBI MPC Meeting Date and Timing
The three-day RBI MPC meeting, which commenced in Mumbai on December 6, is set to conclude on December 8, with Governor Shaktikanta Das announcing the monetary policy at 10 am. Subsequently, at 12 pm, he will hold a press conference.
Where to watch the Announcement of RBI MPC?
The announcement will be streamed on the RBI’s YouTube channel and its X handle.
Anticipated Outcomes of the RBI MPC Meeting:
Currently, the repo rate stands at 6.5%, unchanged since April 2023, following a cumulative increase of 250 basis points between May 2022 and April 2023. Experts anticipate that the upcoming announcement will maintain the status quo on the repo rate.
A recent report by Soumya Kanti Ghosh, the chief economic advisor at the State Bank of India, suggests that the central bank is likely to maintain the status quo in the upcoming RBI MPC announcement. Vikrant Mehta, the Head of Fixed Income at ITI AMC, previously stated that the MPC is anticipated to be a “non-event from the policy rate perspective,” with the central bank expected to keep the repo rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive meeting.
Mehta added that, although there isn’t an expectation for a ‘dovish hold’ indication in this meeting, there is an anticipation for the central bank to temper its hawkish stance, considering the global environment is perceived to be less hostile compared to the previous policy review in October 2023.