RBI reschedules next MPC meeting to August 4–6; cites administrative exigencies
Jun 6, 2025
Synopsis
The Reserve Bank of India has changed the date for its next Monetary Policy Committee meeting. The meeting was originally scheduled for August 5-7, 2025. Now, the MPC will meet from August 4-6, 2025. The RBI stated that this change is due to administrative reasons. The announcement follows Section 45ZI(4) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday announced that the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the financial year 2025–26 has been rescheduled to August 4–6, 2025.
This marks a shift from the previously announced schedule of August 5–7, 2025. The central bank cited “administrative exigencies” as the reason for the change.
In a press release dated June 6, the RBI said, “As announced in the Reserve Bank’s Press Release: 2024-2025/2464 dated March 26, 2025, the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) during the financial year 2025-26 was scheduled during August 5–7, 2025. Due to administrative exigencies, the MPC meeting has been rescheduled to August 4–6, 2025.”
The announcement has been made under Section 45ZI(4) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, said the central bank.
The six-member rate-setting panel, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), is headed by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra.
It also includes RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta and Executive Director Rajiv Ranjan as internal members. The three external members on the committee are economists Nagesh Kumar, Ram Singh, and Saugata Bhattacharya.
RBI slashes repo rate by 50 basis points
At its recent meeting concluding on June 6, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) delivered its third policy rate cut for the calendar year, slashing the repo rate by 50 basis points.
The decision, which takes the key policy rate down to 5.5%, comes amid continued global economic uncertainty, particularly in light of recent tariff actions by the United States, and a sustained period of domestic inflation staying below the RBI’s medium-term target of 4%.
The MPC began its deliberations on June 4 and announced the outcome of its bi-monthly review on Friday, June 6. The panel, chaired by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, has cumulatively cut the repo rate by 100 basis points since February 2025, following earlier reductions of 25 bps each in February and April.
“In the wake of downward revisions to global growth and trade projections, the external environment remains highly uncertain,” said RBI Governor Malhotra. “It is, therefore, imperative to support domestic growth while maintaining price stability.”
CRR and stance adjustments
Alongside the repo rate cut, the RBI also announced a reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) by 100 basis points—from 4% to 3%—to be implemented in four calibrated tranches. This measure is expected to ease liquidity conditions and support credit flow to the productive sectors of the economy.
The central bank also shifted its policy stance from “accommodative” to “neutral,” signaling a more balanced approach going forward. The RBI said it will align liquidity operations with the evolving policy stance to ensure the financial system remains adequately funded.
“From here onwards,” Malhotra added, “the MPC will be carefully assessing the incoming data and the evolving outlook to chart out the future course of monetary policy in order to strike the right growth-inflation balance.”
Following the 100 bps cumulative cut in the policy repo rate, most banks have already lowered their external benchmark-based lending rates (EBLRs) and marginal cost of funds-based lending rates (MCLR), potentially setting the stage for further transmission to borrowers in the coming months.
[The Economic Times]
