One member of MPC voted for a rate cut in October itself

Mumbai: One of the three incoming external members on the monetary policy committee (MPC) voted in favour of a rate reduction in the October review itself, while all six members of the panel were unanimous in seeking a change in stance to 'neutral' that's considered a precursor to the start of an eventual rate-easing cycle.

Of the three new external members, Nagesh Kumar, director and chief executive, Institute for Studies in Industrial Development, voted for a cut, the central bank said.

"While views of Nagesh Kumar and professor Ram Singh on the policy were relatively unknown, Saugata Bhattacharya was expected to vote for a cut due to his views in August," said Shreya Sodhani, regional economist, Barclays. "We will await the minutes of the meeting to gauge the views of the external members."


Among the external members, Saugata Bhattacharya has closely worked with the markets when he was the chief economist at Axis Bank. Kumar and Prof Singh are veteran academics.

The rate-setting panel voted 5:1 for a status quo on rates.