New Delhi, June 6 (HS): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has maintained its GDP growth rate estimate at 6.50 percent for the financial year 2025-26. A growth rate of 6.50 percent was recorded in the previous financial year 2024-25 as well.RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra announced this after a three-day bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. He stated that despite global uncertainties, the Indian economy is presenting a picture of strength, stability, and opportunity.

Malhotra mentioned that the MPC has retained its GDP growth rate estimate for India at 6.50 percent for the financial year 2025-26, which will continue according to our previous forecast.Malhotra informed that the central bank has taken this step amid ongoing global uncertainty. The GDP growth rate is expected to be 6.50 percent in the first quarter (April-June) of the financial year 2025-2026, 6.7 percent in the second quarter (July-September), 6.6 percent in the third quarter (October-December), and 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter (January-March 2026). He indicated that this estimate shows that the economy will remain strong in every quarter, although a slight slowdown may be observed towards the end of the financial year.

It is important to note that the RBI has reduced the key policy interest rate, the repo rate, by 0.50 percent to 5.50 percent with the aim of boosting the domestic economy. Meanwhile, the estimate for retail inflation for the financial year 2025-26 has been reduced from four percent to 3.7 percent.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar