Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Monday met Finance Minister Arun Jaitely, and is believed to have discussed the current economic situation, ahead of the first bi-monthly monetary policy for 2019-20.
The meeting of the six-member Monetary Policy Committee to decide on the first bi-monthly policy statement for 2019-20 will be held from April 2 to 4. The policy will be announced on April 4.
“It was a courtesy meeting, there is a tradition of the RBI Governor meeting the Finance Minister before monetary policy, so it is part of that,” Das told reporters after the meeting.
The bi-monthly policy assumes significance as it will be announced just a week before the commencement of the seven-phase general election beginning April 11.
According to sources, economic issues were discussed during the meeting.
Retail inflation inched up to a four-month high of 2.57 per cent in February, though it is still below the RBI’s benchmark, raising hopes of another round of rate cut to boost industrial growth, which slipped to 1.7 per cent on account of manufacturing sector slowdown.
The central bank had reduced the key lending rate by 25 basis points in February to 6.25 per cent. However, there have also been complaints that banks do not pass on the entire benefit of policy rate cut to borrowers.
