RBI Keeps Repo Rate Unchanged at 5.25%, Revises Inflation and Growth Outlook

The Reserve Bank of India has decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25 percent. Announcing the sixth and final bi-monthly monetary policy of the current financial year, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the six-member Monetary Policy Committee unanimously agreed to maintain the status quo.

With the repo rate unchanged, all other policy rates will also remain the same. The central bank had last reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points in December 2025.

The RBI has revised its inflation outlook for 2026–27. Consumer Price Index inflation for the first quarter is now projected at 4 percent and for the second quarter at 4.2 percent. In its December policy, the central bank had estimated inflation at 3.9 percent and 4 percent for the first and second quarters, respectively. The governor said the marginal upward revision is mainly due to higher prices of precious metals, which are contributing around 60 to 70 basis points to inflation.

On the growth front, the Reserve Bank of India has revised real GDP growth projections upward. Growth for the first quarter of 2026–27 is now pegged at 6.9 percent, while the second quarter is estimated at 7 percent. Earlier, the RBI had projected growth at 6.7 percent and 6.8 percent for the first two quarters.

The central bank also announced several regulatory and consumer protection initiatives. The RBI plans to issue draft guidelines to limit customer liability in cases of unauthorised electronic banking transactions. Under the proposed framework, customers may be compensated up to ₹25,000 for losses arising from small-value fraudulent transactions.

In addition, the RBI will release a discussion paper on measures to enhance the safety of digital payments. These may include features such as lagged credits and additional authentication requirements for specific user groups, including senior citizens.

The RBI is also preparing draft guidelines to address mis-selling of financial products and issues related to loan recovery practices. Comprehensive instructions will be issued to regulated entities covering advertising, marketing, and sales of financial products and services. The central bank will further review and harmonise existing conduct-related instructions on the engagement of recovery agents and other aspects of loan recovery.

Separately, the RBI said it will issue revised draft guidelines for the Lead Bank Scheme, the Kisan Credit Card Scheme, and the Business Correspondent Model.