RBI MPC update: Central bank keeps repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, takes neutral stance

RBI MPC news: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday announced that the repo rate is unchanged at 5.25 per cent. He said that the MPC has taken a neutral stance this time. 

"The Monetary Policy Committee has decided to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, and to maintain a neutral stance," Malhotra said in his post-MPC statement. 

The RBI governor added that economic activity is expected to hold up well in the coming year amid global uncertainties. 

Governor Malhotra said that the monetary policy will be guided by new inflation data based on the revised series. India is set to get a new base year for both GDP and inflation in the next two days, as per the RBI chief.

He stated that the Indian economy continues to remain resilient, adding that domestic inflation and growth outlook remain positive. 

The central bank revised its growth outlook for FY2025-26 from 7.3 per cent to 7.4 per cent. Malhotra said that the central bank has revised its inflation forecast to 2.1 per cent for FY26 from 2 per cent.

He added that several measures announced in Budget 2026 should be conducive to growth, while hoping services exports would remain resilient. Furthermore, he said that the recently concluded India-EU free trade agreement and the prospective India-US trade deal would support export momentum. 

After the RBI maintained the status quo on the repo rate, BSE Sensex fell 342 points to 82,791 and Nifty slipped 127 points to 25,515 on Friday.

Auto, banking and real estate stocks traded lower today. BSE Auto Index slipped 542 points to 60,803, whereas BSE Bankex went down 158 points to 67,378. BSE Realty also slipped 49 points to 6,343 on the same day. 

Top losers included Uno Minda, Motherson Sumi and Balkrishna Industries in the auto segment, with shares falling up to 4.13 per cent. In the banking segment, top losers included IndusInd Bank, Bank of Baroda, Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank, and State Bank of India. 

In the real estate space, Oberoi Realty, Anant Raj, Lodha Developers, DLF, and Godrej Properties fell up to 3 per cent.