RBI's MPC to gain Indranil Bhattacharyya as Rajiv Ranjan steps down: Report

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), is likely to get a new member, with the central bank's Executive Director Indranil Bhattacharyya said to replace current panel member Rajiv Ranjan, the Economic Times reported citing sources.

Indranil Bhattacharyya was appointed as an Executive Director of the central bank's Monetary Policy Department on March 19, 2025. The board is likely to approve his nomination during the upcoming meeting, the report added.

Further, according to an ET Now report, Rajiv Ranjan will move to lead the Department of Economic & Policy Research. He had joined the panel in 2022.

Currently on the six-member RBI MPC panel are: RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, deputy RBI Governor Poonam Gupta, and four external members Nagesh Kumar, Ram Singh, Rajiv Ranjan, and Saugata Bhattacharya.

RBI's MPC leaves repo rate unchanged at 5.5%

On August 6, the RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee held its key interest rate steady, as the effects of previous rate cuts make their way through the economy. The committee also retained its growth forecast for the year, even as it keeps a wary eye on the global tariff turmoil.

The six-member panel voted unanimously to keep the repo rate at 5.5 per cent, maintaining its neutral policy stance. The decision was widely anticipated, with a Mint poll of 15 economists showing a majority expected a pause, while a few had forecast a 25 basis point reduction. Wednesday's no-change policy marks a pause after several consecutive rate cuts.

Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends money to commercial banks for short-term needs. One basis point equals 0.01 per cent.

RBI MPC: Inflation, growth projections

The committee revised its FY26 consumer price inflation projection lower to 3.1 per cent, from 3.7 per cent previously. However, it anticipates inflation will rise above its 4 per cent medium-term target in the fourth quarter and beyond, driven by unfavourable base effects and demand-side factors.

Global developments have little impact on food prices, which account for nearly half of India's retail inflation, said Poonam Gupta, deputy governor, RBI. “A significant part consists of non-tradeables, which does not get impacted by global developments. To that extent, first-order direct impact on India's inflation is likely to be very limited,” Gupta said.