1 / 6The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in the first policy post-Budget 2026, has kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, extending its pause after the December 2025 rate cut. With the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) maintaining a neutral stance, the policy signals a shift in focus from rate cuts to liquidity management and growth support. Here’s how bankers, economists and markets are reacting to the RBI’s latest policy move.
2 / 6Upasna Bhardwaj: Upasna Bhardwaj, Chief Economist at Kotak Mahindra Bank, said, “For now, it appears that the RBI’s focus will largely be on liquidity, and more or less, we are done with the rate-cutting cycle. We will be seeing a prolonged pause from now on, unless there is a dramatic change in the trajectory suggested by the new series.”
3 / 6Kaushik Das: Kaushik Das, Chief Economist at Deutsche Bank, said, “RBI has done the right thing to not give their FY27 gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation forecast for the whole year, given that we will get a new series of GDP and consumer price index (CPI).”
4 / 6Ajay Srivastava: Ajay Srivastava, MD, Dimensions Corporate Finance Services, said, “RBI has limited room to cut or raise rates immediately, but market fundamentals point to higher rates ahead, with equity markets already reflecting this expectation.”
5 / 6Ashwini Kumar Tewari: Ashwini Kumar Tewari, MD at SBI, said, “Having sorted out the free trade agreement (FTA) and the India-US trade deal, the focus comes back to growth, and banks have to play an important role.”
6 / 6Ashhish Vaidya: Ashhish Vaidya, DBS Bank India, said, “The 10-year yield may end somewhere around 6.95% by March end. I continue to see that the global fixed income markets will continue to experience sell-offs, but particularly in the longer end. So, the shorter end will be well anchored, but the longer end, we’ll see some upticks across the globe.”
