February 07, 2019

RBI cuts Repo Rate by 25 bps to 6.25 : RBI Monetary Policy Review 2019 Highlights

Thursday, February 07, 2019 Banking Awareness Leave a Comment

Highlights of RBI's 6th bi-monthly monetary policy statement of 2018-19

RBI cuts key lending rate (repo) by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent.
Reverse repo rate cut to 6 pc, bank rate to 6.5 per cent, CRR unchanged at 4 per cent
Headline inflation estimates revised down to 2.8 per cent in March quarter, 3.2-3.4 per cent in first half of next fiscal and 3.9 per cent in Q3 of FY'20
Projects GDP growth to accelerate to 7.4 per cent next fiscal, from 7.2 per cent in 2018-19
Pegs April-September growth in range of 7.2-7.4 per cent, and 7.5 per cent in Q3 of 2019-20
Oil price outlook hazy, trade tensions to weigh on global growth prospects
Union budget proposals to boost demand by raising disposable incomes
To revise definition of bulk deposits as single rupee deposits of Rs. 2 crore and above from Rs. 1 crore currently
To issue guidelines to harmonise major categories of NBFCs
Proposes to set up a task force on Offshore Rupee Markets to ensure Rupee value stability
Removes restrictions on Foreign Portfolio Investors investing in corporate debt market
To come out with discussion paper on Payment Gateway Service Providers and Payment Aggregators
Hikes limit of collateral-free agricultural loans to Rs. 1.6 lakh from Rs. 1 lakh, to help small and marginal farmers
Constitutes Working Group to review agricultural credit
Monetary policy committee votes 4:2 in favour of rate cut, unanimous on change in stance
2 MPC members Chetan Ghate and Viral Acharya were for status quo in rates
Next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) will be during 2nd to 4th April 2019.