RBI MPC Meeting 2026: In a major decision, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI’s) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), in its first monetary policy review meeting on Friday, kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. The central bank, in the monetary policy easing cycle, has slashed the repo rate by 125 basis points or 1.25 percent. It simply means that loan EMIs will get cheaper. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation has remained low, touching its lowest level in this data series in October last year.
GDP Growth
As far as GDP growth is concern it has slashed all expectations on this financial year. it is expected that India is going to grow at over 7 percent. If the country grow with the 7 percent pace, it will retain its tag of being the world’s fasted growing economy.
It is to be noted that the primary watchdog for the banking system’s policy statement will be review for inflation and GDP growth forecast.
This MPC meet comes just after the recently announced Union Budget 2026, and the announcement of the India–US trade deal.
RBI Policy Outcome
The six-member rate setting panel Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged and tried to maintain the policy stand neutral. In the December monetary policy, the bank regulatory authority has slashed the repo rate by 25 bps to 5.25 percent from 5.50 percent.
What Did RBI Governor Say?
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra, announcing the decision, stated that the MPC maintained a neutral stance. He said that the decision has been taken following a thorough assessment of evolving macroeconomic conditions and the overall economic outlook.
Notably, this is the first monetary policy review of the RBI after Finance Minister Sitharaman announced the Budget 2026.
The RBI Governor said global challenges have increased since the last policy meeting. However, he added that the successful completion of recent trade deals is a positive sign for the future of the economy.
“Domestic inflation and growth outlook remain positive” and added that the “Indian economy remains resilient. Real GDP growth for the next two quarters have been revised upwards,” Malhotra said.
CPI Inflation For Projected At 2.1%
The RBI Governor also added that CPI inflation for this year is expected to be 2.1 percent.
In the December meeting, the MPC panel voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25 percent. In his announcement, the RBI Governor proposed setting up a unified portal. The portal will focus on better management of Lead Bank data and easing branch opening norms for NBFCs.
The Governor informed that the bank regulators will allow and encourage banks to lend to REITs with safeguards. The central bank will focus on liquidity management in order to fulfil the productive requirements of the economy.
“System liquidity remained at Rs 75,000 crore on a dailyaverage basis. The RBI took several steps to boost liquidity in December-January,” he said.
He further said that the country’s forex reserves remained strong, standing at USD723.8 billion at the end of January.
