RBI cuts key interest rate, changes policy stance to 'neutral'
Loans may get cheaper
Mumbai, Feb 7: The Reserve Bank of India Thursday cut benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent on expectation of inflation staying within its target range, a move that may translate into lower monthly installments for home and other loans.
The central bank also changed its monetary policy stance to 'neutral' from the earlier 'calibrated tightening', signalling further softening on its approach towards interest rates.
In the first policy review under Governor Shaktikanta Das, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted 4:2 in favour of the rate cut, while the decision to change policy stance was unanimous.
The RBI cut its estimates on headline inflation which cooled off to a 18-month low of 2.2 per cent in December for the next year, and expects the number to come at 2.8 per cent in March quarter, 3.2-3.4 per cent in first half of next fiscal and 3.9 per cent in third quarter of FY20.
Benchmark interest rate was cut by 0.25 per cent to 6.25 per cent, a move that would result in lower cost of borrowing for the banks that are expected to transmit the same to individuals and corporates.
"Headline inflation is projected to remain soft in the near term, reflecting the current low level of inflation and the benign food inflation outlook, the MPC resolution said, adding "we need to be watchful of vegetable prices, oil prices, trade tensions, health and education inflation, financial market volatility and monsoon outcomes".
The rate cut is in consonance of achieving the medium term objective of maintaining inflation at the 4 per cent level while supporting growth, it said.
Deputy Governor Viral Acharya and another MPC member, Chetan Ghate, voted for status quo in interest rates, while Das and three others voted for a cut in interest rates.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
