IANS | 21 Oct, 2023
A majority of the members of the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee
(MPC) are of the view that the central bank’s policy needs to remain
actively disinflationary as headline inflation is ruling above the
tolerance band and its alignment with the target is getting interrupted,
the minutes of the last meeting released on Friday showed.
The
MPC, in its policy review meeting, had retained the key repo rate at
6.5 percent, reiterating willingness to act against inflation.
"Going
forward, inflation outlook continues to be beset with uncertainties,
especially from adverse weather events, the playout of El Nino
conditions, uncertainties in global food and energy prices and
volatility in global financial markets," RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das
was quoted as saying in the minutes of the October meeting ahead of the
monetary policy announcement.
"Inflation prints for September and
October will need to be monitored carefully to look out for the
moderation that our projections anticipate," RBI Deputy Governor Michael
Debabrata Patra said.
In September, India’s headline retail
inflation rate fell to 5.02 per cent in September, mainly because of the
sharp fall in vegetable prices.
But clearly the MPC members are of the view that situation needs to kept under close watch.
The
RBI Governor said on Friday at a conclave in Delhi that "We remain
extra vigilant on inflation dynamics as the outlook on food inflation is
beset with uncertainties".
The central bank faces the challenge
of maintaining a delicate balance between promoting growth and
controlling inflation with the potential for conflicts between the two
objectives.
