RBI Monetary Policy Meeting February 2025 Live Updates: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is under close watch this week, with many expecting a potential 25-basis-point cut in the repo rate. This marks the first MPC meeting under the leadership of newly appointed RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
The meeting began on February 5, 2025, and RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra will announce the outcome of the two-day meeting on February 7, 2025, at 10:00 AM.
His remarks will be closely followed for insights into the central bank’s policy direction, including GDP growth projections and CPI inflation forecasts.
This policy announcement comes shortly after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Union Budget 2025 speech. While the budget aimed to stimulate consumption by adjusting income tax slabs, attention has now turned to the central bank for measures to further support GDP growth.
Experts widely anticipate a 25-basis-point cut in the repo rate, lowering it to 6.25% from the current 6.50%. The last rate reduction was in May 2020, when it was cut by 40 basis points to support economic recovery during the pandemic.
Ajay Garg, CEO of SMC Global Securities, explained, “The main reason for the likely rate cut is the expected easing of CPI inflation to 4.5% – 4.7% in January 2025, down from 5.2% in December 2024. For FY25, the real GDP growth is projected at 6.4%, the lowest in the past four years, with growth expected to range from 6.3% to 6.8% in FY26. To boost GDP growth, the RBI is expected to take the rate-cut route.”
