RBI’s first post-budget MPC meet opens amid India–US trade push

The three-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) begins today, with the policy outcome scheduled to be announced on Friday.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra is meeting the central bank's top officials for the first MPC after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman unveiled a tech-packed budget on February 1. The meeting takes place in the background of India-US trade deal, which is still a grey pact, as both the governments are yet to reveal complete details.

The key MPC meeting comes at a time when RBI has already undertaken significant monetary easing over the past year.


The central bank has reduced the key lending rate, or the repo rate, by a cumulative 125 basis points since last February, reflecting its focus on supporting economic growth while keeping inflation under control.

Over the next three days, the MPC members will hold detailed discussions to assess both inflation trends and growth prospects of the Indian economy before arriving at a decision.

In the December MPC meeting, the RBI announced a 25-basis-point reduction in the policy repo rate, bringing it down to 5.25 percent. Alongside the rate cut, the central bank also revised its economic growth outlook.

RBI projected India's economy to grow at 7.3 percent in the current fiscal year, around half a percentage point higher than the earlier estimate. This upward revision by Malhotra's team reflected improved confidence in domestic economic activity and overall growth momentum.

As per latest data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), India's Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December 2025 stood at 1.33 percent yoy, as compared to December 2024.

The rise in inflation was attributed to higher prices in categories such as personal care and effects, vegetables, meat and fish, eggs, spices, pulses and products.

Headline inflation in December 2025 rose by 62 basis points compared to November 2025.

The outcome of the ongoing MPC meeting, scheduled to be revealed on Friday, will be closely watched by markets and observers, as it will indicate the RBI's next steps amid easing inflation and steady growth prospects.