The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday, 5 February, kept the repo rate unchanged at 4 percent. This is the fourth time in a row that the interest rates have been kept unchanged.
Addressing a briefing, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the GDP growth has been projected at 10.5 percent for the financial year 2021-22
Das also said the central bank will maintain an accommodative monetary policy stance to support growth and keep inflation at the targeted level.
“Marginal standing facility rate and the bank rate remain unchanged at 4.25 percent. The reverse repo rate stands unchanged at 3.35 percent.”RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, as quoted by ANI
'Will Undo the Damage Inflicted by COVID in FY22'
The central bank governor also said the outlook on growth is turning positive, with the signs of recovery strengthening further.
"While the year 2020 tested our capabilities and endurance, 2021 is setting the stage for a new economic era in the course of our history... Consumer confidence is reviving and business expectations of manufacturing, services and infrastructure remain upbeat. The movement of goods and people and domestic trading activities are growing at a robust pace," he was quoted as saying, going on to assert that the in next fiscal, one can expect the damage inflicted by the pandemic on the economy to be undone.
In his address, coming days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget in the Parliament, Das said the Budget has provided an impetus to the health and infrastructure sectors.
The presentation of the Budget came in the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic and its repercussion on the economy, which is facing its worst contraction since 1952.
The Budget this year was based on six pillars, said the finance minister. These include: health and well-being; physical and financial capital, and infrastructure; inclusive development for aspirational India; reinvigorating human capital; innovation, and Research and Development; minimum government and maximum governance
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