RBI maintains 'status quo' stance on key policy rates; slashes SLR to 23%

31 Jul 2012 Evaluate

Seeing high inflation as a bigger danger than the slowest growth in almost a decade, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in its much awaited first quarter monetary policy review, as expected left its policy rates unchanged at 8% (repo) and 7%( reverse repo) respectively. Also, cash reserve ratio (CRR) remained untouched at 4.75%. However, the world’s most aggressive central bank, in a surprise, did slash its Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) of scheduled commercial banks from 24% to 23% of their NDTL with effect from the fortnight beginning August 11, 2012.  Meanwhile, the MSF rate determined with a spread of 100 basis points above the repo rate, along with the Bank rate remained unchanged at 9.0%

Furthering it’s over two-year-old anti-inflationary stance, RBI this time around also opted to battle out the inflation demon, as last seen in its Mid-quarterly policy review on June 18, 2012. However, in this monetary policy review, the central bank staged much hawkish stand, as besides lowering the growth forecast, it lifted its inflation outlook, on demand of deteriorating economic condition.

Reasoning newer risks to growth from slowing global trade, domestic supply bottlenecks of industrial inputs, coal and electricity and less than satisfactory monsoon, RBI lowered its GDP growth projection from 7.3% to 6.5%. On the other hand, keeping in view the recent trends in food inflation, global commodity prices and the likely demand scenario, the baseline projection for WPI inflation for March 2013 was raised from 6.5%, as set out in the April policy to 7%. India’s June headline inflation, as measured by the WPI, was at 7.25%, a figure that RBI Governor Duvurri Subbarao had earlier hailed as being way above the ‘threshold level.’

Further, in an indication that the RBI would hold the policy rate steady, RBI in its first quarter review of the macro economic and monetary developments warned that inflation is likely to remain sticky during 2012-13 and therefore a recovery should be supported through non-inflationary measure.

The RBI, with this monetary policy review, also has left the onus for the revival of domestic growth on the government through policy actions like removing constraints on foreign direct investment (FDI) and revamping the subsidy schemes.

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