New Delhi/IBNS: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% while the cash reserve ratio (CRR) has been slashed by 50 basis points to 4 percent, media reports said.

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das made the announcement on Friday.

This is the 11th consecutive time when the repo rate has been kept unchanged.

The RBI has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5% since February 2023, when it last increased the rate to its current level.

The central bank is tasked with maintaining consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation  at 4%, with a 2% margin on either side.

In an off-cycle meeting in May 2022, the MPC raised the repo rate by 40 basis points, followed by additional hikes through February 2023, cumulatively increasing the rate by 250 basis points during this period.

The MPC comprises Nagesh Kumar, Director and Chief Executive at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development; Saugata Bhattacharya, Economist; Ram Singh, Director at Delhi School of Economics; Rajiv Ranjan, RBI Executive Director; Michael Debabrata Patra, RBI Deputy Governor; and Shaktikanta Das, RBI Governor.