New Delhi, Oct 1
The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) decision to maintain the repo rate at 5.5 per cent was "appropriate" and "prudent", given the prevailing global economic uncertainty, economist Dr Manoranjan Sharma said on Wednesday.
Dr Sharma also underlined that the RBI’s monetary policy decisions are not directly linked to GST. "Interest rates are set by the central bank based on broader economic conditions. GST is a structural reform that will help boost consumption and support growth," he added.
This is the second consecutive time that the RBI has left the repo rate unchanged, after maintaining the status quo in the August MPC meeting. Since the beginning of 2025, however, the central bank has lowered the repo rate by a total of 1 percentage point - cutting it by 25 basis points each in February and April, followed by a larger 50 basis points cut in June.