RBI Projects GDP Growth At 6% For FY21

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday in its bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement said that it has projected GDP (gross domestic product) growth at 6 percent for the financial year 2020-21. In the first half of FY21, growth is expected in the range of 5.5-6 percent and at 6.2 percent in the third quarter.

The central bank kept the repo rates unchanged at 5.15 percent in the sixth bimonthly policy review of the ongoing financial year. It maintained its accommodative stance to support growth and said that there is policy space available for future action.

All MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) members including RBI governor Shaktikanta Das voted in favour of the status quo decision.

With the government easing fiscal deficit target and recent positive macro data, prospects of economic growth revival the country remain positive. The fiscal deficit is budgeted to decline to 3.5 percent of GDP for FY 2020-21.

For the fourth quarter of 2019-20, MPC expects retail inflation at 6.5 percent. Inflation is projected to be eased to 5.4-5 percent in the first half of FY 2020-21 and is seen falling to 3.2 percent in the third quarter.