Is Time Ripe For New RBI Guv To Trim Repo?

Mumbai: The RBI under former Governor Shaktikanta Das resisted pressures to cut interest rates through 2024 as it kept its ‘Arjuna’s eye’ trained on inflation, but the central bank under a new detail-oriented head will soon have to take a call if it can continue sacrificing growth.

Das, a career bureaucrat, who in 2016 oversaw Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s highly disruptive demonetisation move, left a lasting legacy as he demitted office towards the end of 2024 after expertly navigating monetary policy for six years, the highlight of which was steering India’s recovery through the pandemic.

Sanjay Malhotra, another civil servant, was named as Das’ successor barely 24-hour before the latter’s second three-year term came to an end. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under Das kept interest rates unchanged for almost two years even when economic growth slipped to a seven-quarter low in July-September quarter of the current fiscal.