RBI MPC News: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra on Friday announced that the repo rate remains unchanged at 5.25%. He said the MPC has taken a neutral stand this time.

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

The RBI governor added that economic activity is expected to remain strong in the coming year amid global uncertainties.

Governor Malhotra said monetary policy will be guided by fresh 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, according to the RBI chief.

He stated that the Indian economy remains resilient, adding that domestic inflation and growth prospects remain positive.

The central bank revised its growth outlook for fiscal 2025-26 from 7.3% to 7.4%. Malhotra said the central bank has revised its inflation forecast to 2.1% for FY26 from 2%.

He added that several measures announced in Budget 2026 should support growth, while he expected service exports to remain resilient. He further said that the recently concluded India-EU Free Trade Agreement and the upcoming India-US trade agreement would support the boost in exports.

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

Auto, banking and real estate stocks are trading lower today. BSE Auto Index fell 542 points to 60,803, while BSE Bankex fell 158 points to 67,378. BSE Realty also fell 49 points to 6,343 on the same day.

The top losers were Uno Minda, Motherson Sumi and Balkrishna Industries in the auto segment, with shares falling as much as 4.13 percent. 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 as much as 3%.