New Delhi, April 2 (H.S.): The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released the schedule for the meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the financial year 2025-26. There will be a total of 6 MPC meetings during the current financial year, with the first meeting scheduled for April 7-9. The Reserve Bank may again reduce the policy rate, the repo rate, by 0.25 percent this time.

Official sources reported on Wednesday that the two-day review meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee for the financial year 2025-26, chaired by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, will begin on April 7 and continue until April 9, 2025. The RBI Governor will announce the MPC's decision on April 9. In the last MPC meeting for the financial year 2024-25, the repo rate was reduced from 6.5 percent to 6.25 percent by 0.25 percent.

Economic experts say that the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee could reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points, or 0.25 percent, during its first meeting scheduled for April 7-9 of the current fiscal year. Additionally, some rating agencies have indicated in their reports that the MPC may further reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points in the meeting taking place in April.

What is the Monetary Policy Committee?

The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee consists of 6 members. Of these, 3 members are from the Reserve Bank, while the other 3 members are appointed by the central government. This six-member committee is tasked with not only formulating monetary policy to ensure price stability but also determining key policy interest rates. These meetings typically occur every two months.

What is the Repo Rate

The repo rate is the policy interest rate at which banks in India borrow money from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). When the RBI reduces this rate, banks can lend to customers at lower interest rates. This means that borrowers will have to pay less interest. If the repo rate decreases, interest rates on home loans, car loans, and personal loans will also go down. Additionally, it will become easier for businesses to take loans.

Currently, the Reserve Bank has six members. These include RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Executive Director of the central bank Dr. Rajeev Ranjan, Deputy Governor of the RBI M Rajeshwar Rao, Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Director and Chief Executive of the Institute for Industrial Development Studies, New Delhi, Sougata Bhattacharya, and economist Professor Ram Singh, Director of the Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi.

It is noteworthy that the RBI has released the schedule for the MPC meetings for the current financial year 2025-26. The central bank has scheduled six Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meetings for the current financial year, with the first meeting set for April 7-9. Previously, the RBI had reduced policy interest rates by 0.25 percent during the last MPC meeting of the financial year 2024-25, lowering it from 6.5 percent to 6.25 percent. This cut was made by the RBI after nearly five years.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar