RBI cuts repo rate by 50 bps to 5.5 pc, third consecutive reduction
Mumbai (PTI): The RBI on Friday cut repo rate by a higher-than-expected 50 basis points to prop up growth, which has slowed to a four-year low of 6.5 per cent in FY25.
Following the rate cut, the key policy rate eased to a three-year low of 5.5 per cent, providing relief to home, auto and corporate loans borrowers.
This is the lowest repo rate in three years.
The repo rate -- the rate at which banks borrow funds from the RBI -- had last stood at 5.40 per cent on August 5, 2022.
After a detailed assessment of the evolving macroeconomic and financial development, as well as the economic outlook, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decided to reduce the repo rate by 50 basis points, RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said.
Since February 2025, the RBI has reduced the policy rate by 100 basis points. In its previous policy review in April, it had also trimmed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6 per cent.
After reducing repo by 100 bps in quick succession, monetary policy is left with limited space to support growth, he added.
This is the first time since Covid-19 that the RBI has passed on three consecutive rate cuts, beginning February 2020.
Malhotra, however, retained the GDP forecast for the current fiscal at 6.5 per cent. The inflation projection was lowered to 3.7 per cent from the earlier estimate of 4 per cent, supported by expectations of a good monsoon.
The MPC felt that the front-loading of the rate cuts would help growth, he added.
The Rate-setting panel changed the stance to neutral from 'accommodative'.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
