RBI MPC: Lone dissent was more hawkish this time

The lone dissenting voice this time was for a shallower rate cut of 25 bps ( one basis point is 0.01%), while the majority voted for a deeper rate cut of 50 bps. In the past however dissenters voted for deeper rate revisions.

External member Saugata Bhattacharya voted for a 25 bps cut in repo rate. The monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 50 bps to 5.50 per cent. “ The dominant balance of probability is that inflation in India is likely to remain moderate over FY26. Factoring in a likely pre-emptive need to support growth given the evolving disruptions, I vote to cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.0%.” Bhattacharya had said in the minutes of the April policy statement. His justifcation for the latest vote will be out only on June 20, when the central bank releases the June MPC minutes.

External members Nagesh Kumar and Prof Ram Singh along with internal members Rajiv Ranjan, executive director, Reserve bank of India, Poonam Gupta, deputy governor, RBI and Sanjay Malhotra, governor, Reserve Bank of India voted to decrease the policy repo rate by 50 bps.


Significantly all the members voted for a change in stance from accommodative to neutral. “ The MPC also decided to change the stance from accommodative to neutral” the resolution said, implying that there was no vote to arrive at the official stance.

“ From here onwards, 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.” said the resolution of the monetary policy on Friday. “ The fast-changing global economic situation too necessitates continuous monitoring and assessment of the evolving macroeconomic outlook.” it said.