RBI Monetary Policy Committee: The Monetary Committee (MPC) meeting of RBI and its policy decisions are taken every two months, which have a direct impact on the Indian economy, markets and common people. The aim of the central bank is to control inflation, ensure stability of the rupee and maintain economic momentum. The MPC consists of a total of six members—three nominated by the RBI and three nominated by the Central Government. Its main objective is to keep inflation within the range of 4 percent on an average.
What does MPC do?
Often a question arises in the minds of people that how do the decisions taken in the MPC meeting affect everything from markets and loans to EMIs and employment. Dr. Aastha Ahuja, Professor of Aryabhatta College, Delhi University, says that when the Central Bank makes a policy, it has a direct impact on the interest rates, liquidity available in the market and the sentiments of investors. The change in interest rates is basically based on the fluctuations in the repo rate.
Recently, RBI has reduced the repo rate by 25 basis points, which brought it down to 5.25 percent. This makes borrowing cheaper and increases the purchasing power of consumers, which encourages investment and demand. However, in such a situation, the risk of capital outflow may increase, because the interest rates in foreign markets are high. This affects the rupee, inflation and balance of payments (BOP). At present the rupee has already weakened against the dollar and has crossed 90.
How are each sector affected?
Talking about the stock market, large-cap stocks are performing relatively better, while mid-cap and small-caps are under pressure. The reason for this is lack of demand. RBI figures show that capacity utilization is at 75.8 percent, which means the pace of private investment in the economy is weak. In such a situation, investment will not increase rapidly by merely reducing the repo rate, unless domestic demand increases. To increase demand, the role of fiscal policy of the government becomes very important.
The income and savings structure in India also affects investment. Only 8–9 percent of people in the country are able to save enough, which mostly includes the upper-middle and rich classes. The savings of the middle and lower-middle class are very low, due to which a large amount of savings go into mutual funds and stock markets, especially when returns on fixed income are uncertain.
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