RBI keeps repo rate unchanged, lowers 2017-18 growth projection

Mumbai: The Reserve Bank of India has kept its key interest rate unchanged at 6 per cent while announcing its bi-monthly monetary policy review on Wednesday.

According to the statement released by the apex bank, rising inflationary pressure prompted India's central bank, the RBI, to maintain its key lending rates.

According to the Reserve Bank of India's fourth bi-monthly monetary policy review of 2017-18, the repurchase rate, or the short-term lending rate for commercial banks on loans taken from it, has been maintained at 6 per cent.

Reverse repo rate remained at 5.75 per cent and bank rate at 6.25 per cent.

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The central bank has lowered the country's growth projection for 2017-18, pegging the gross value added (GVA) to fall to 6.3 per cent.

The central bank had earlier estimated India's GVA in 2017-18 to grow at 7.3 per cent.

Taking into account various factors during the fiscal, the RBI said, "The projection of real GVA growth for 2017-18 has been revised down to 6.7 per cent from the August 2017 projection of 7.3 per cent, with risks evenly balanced."