The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) policy decision became one of the top trending topics on Google on Friday morning when RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das announced that the repo rate would remain unchanged at 6.5%. The decision comes in the backdrop of high inflation and sluggish GDP growth.
Screengrab of trends.google
According to Google Trends, the term RBI policy saw a 1,000% increase in search volume, recording over 20,000 searches within hours of the announcement.
While announcing the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Governor Das said it is necessary to maintain the repo rate to maintain a neutral policy stance while closely monitoring the outlook for inflation and growth. The GDP growth projection for 2025-26 is set at 6.6%.
The announcement comes amid economic headwinds, including slowing GDP growth, persistent inflation, and tight liquidity conditions in the banking system. India’s GDP growth rate fell to a seven-quarter low of 5.4% in the July-September 2024 quarter.