oppn parties RBI Keeps Repo Unchanged, Fears Inflation Ahead

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  • Calcutta HC says Cricket Association of Bengal is not liable to pay tax on advertisement inisde Eden Gardens cricket ground as it is not a 'public place' because it does not have unrestricted access for the general public
  • Supreme Court admits a plea from a child of a single OBC mother who had applied for an OBC certificate for her son
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  • Stocks weaken on Monday on global cues: sensex sheds 511 points to 81896 and Nifty 140 points to 24971
  • Former left-arm spinner Dilip Doshi dies in London at 77. He played for India in 33 Test matches and for Bengal in domestic tournaments
  • Pant becomes the only keeper to score two centuries in the same Test in England
  • England Test: Rishabh Pant hits his second ton and KL Rahul a classy century to put India on top, England need 350 runs on the last day, with the ptich showing signs of wear and tear
  • DGCA orders an audit of the entire aviation ecosystem in the wake of recent snags in many flights after the AI Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad
  • 2 Pahalgam residents arrested by NIA for sheltering and aiding 3 terrorists who killed civilian tourists in pahalgam tell the agency that there were 3 LeT ultras from Pakistan that carried out the attack
  • India unlikely to agree to US demands for lower tariffs on agri products and GM food, trade deal faces fresh hurdles
  • Stocks likely to plummet today as traders will be worried about the effect of US strike on iran, oil price rise and possible inflation. Foreign funds may also withdraw in the volatile global situation
  • Oil prices likely to shoot up as US strikes at iran and the latter decides to close the Strait of Homruz
US President Donald Trump unilaterally announces a 'ceasefire' between Israel & Iran
oppn parties
RBI Keeps Repo Unchanged, Fears Inflation Ahead

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2017-04-06 23:30:59

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
The RBI acted as per the expectations of the analysts and the stock exchanges in deciding the first bimonthly monetary policy for financial year 2017-18. It wisely maintained the status quo, keeping the repurchase (repo) rate unchanged at 6.25% and the cash reserve ratio (CRR) at 4%. However, it raised the reverse repo rate to 6 percent (an increase of 25 basis points) and the marginal standing facility (for emergency borrowings of banks in case of temporary liquidity crunch) to 6.75 percent from 6.5%.

After demonetization and the subsequent flood of deposits in customer accounts, banks are awash with funds. The RBI had tightened the CRR by imposing a 100% incremental CRR in November 2016 to flush out this excess liquidity that had the potential of flaming inflation. It had subsequently withdrawn the incremental CRR (partly because it realized that in the absence of rapid remonetization and restrictions on withdrawals, the potential of increased inflation by excess liquidity was minimal) in the December 2017 policy. In February 2017 policy, the RBI assumed a neutral stance by again keeping the repo rates unchanged.

The current policy is in tune with the recent RBI policy of keeping liquidity on a tight leash to control inflation. It has constantly averred that the lending rates are low enough but lending is not picking up due to a host of other factors including lack of demand for goods and services. This time, the RBI has also said that if increase in house rent allowance under the seventh CPC is finally approved and awarded, it could lead to inflation. Hence, the apex bank is not amenable to increasing liquidity in the system. It has also said that the combined effect of initial impact of conversion to GST and the met prediction of a weak monsoon may trigger inflationary pressures.

By allowing commercial banks to invest in real estate investment trusts (REITs), the RBI has given a huge boost to that segment of the real estate sector that deals in commercial properties. It has also allowed banks to open up a lucrative new avenue of earning. The move will also benefit real estate companies like DLF who mostly deal in developing properties for commercial uses. It will also lead to a jump in creation of infrastructure like warehouses, industrial parks and office complexes for commercial activities.

The RBI has issued a strong warning to governments writing off farm loans, as done by the UP government recently. RBI governor Urijit Patel said that it “can discourage an honest credit culture and crowd out private borrowers. It is time to eschew loan waiver culture.” The NDA government, of which the BJP is the major constituent, is rightly pursuing the path of fiscal consolidation in budget making at the centre. But if it allows state governments run by the BJP to indulge in blowing away public money at the scale done in UP, the budgetary fiscal consolidation will not amount to much. Additionally, it will have a disastrous effect on the balance sheets of already stressed PSU banks.