The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which disappointed the markets with its decision of not to cut key policy rates in its quarterly monetary policy review and only to go with CRR rate cut of 25 basis points has justified the decision, saying that the liquidity in the system was tightened due to a build-up in government cash balances and festival demand, with the CRR cut the bank intended to pre-empt a prospective tightening of liquidity conditions, thereby keeping liquidity comfortable and supportive of growth.
RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao said that considering that a rate cut won’t help if liquidity is tight and looking at the current balance between growth and inflation risks, it was appropriate to maintain the policy rate where it is, just a little bit above the inflation rate. He further said that even if you have comfortable liquidity and if the rate is very high, it does not help. You have to calibrate both the reverse repo and the repo rates and the CRR such that transmission takes place and the interest rate is at the correct level given the growth-inflation balance.
Talking on inflation, the RBI governor said that it turned up again in September, reflecting the partial pass-through of adjustment of diesel and electricity prices, and elevated inflation in non-food manufactured products. It was, therefore, critical that even as the monetary policy stance shifts further towards addressing growth risks, the objective of containing inflation and anchoring inflation expectations is not de-emphasized.
He further stated that the policy decision of infusing additional liquidity will facilitate a turnaround in credit growth to productive sectors to support growth and as inflation risks moderate, the growth stimulus of the policy actions announced by the government will be reinforced, also the policy action will anchor medium-term inflation expectations on the basis of a credible commitment to low and stable inflation.
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