RBI minutes show unanimous hike, split on tightening stance

Minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's October 5 to 7 meeting, published Wednesday, show all six Monetary Policy Committee members voted to raise the repo rate 25 basis points to 5.50 percent, while two members opposed the change of stance to calibrated tightening.

Why it matters: The split was over signalling, not the hike itself: the dissenters warned a tightening stance could be read as an extended cycle, so the December 2 to 4 meeting opens with the rate path live but the committee divided on how far to commit to it.

Data as of Reserve Bank of India press release 2026-2027/1361, minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee meeting held October 5 to 7, 2026, published Wednesday, October 21, 2026 and read in full. Single publisher, the issuing central bank itself, so this item is single-sourced. Developing item.

The Reserve Bank of India voted unanimously to raise the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 percent at its October 5 to 7 meeting and to change its stance to calibrated tightening, the minutes published on Wednesday showed, with the standing deposit facility rate at 5.25 percent and the marginal standing facility and Bank Rate at 5.75 percent. Two members, Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh, voted for the hike but against the stance change, arguing it could signal an extended cycle of increases when inflation is mainly supply driven; the other four members backed the change, which the committee said means rate cuts are off the table in the near term and the next move can only be a hike or a pause.

The minutes kept the projections set at the meeting: real GDP growth of 7.1 percent for 2026-27 after 7.8 percent in the first quarter, and CPI inflation of 5.2 percent for the year, rising to 6.0 percent in the third quarter, with core inflation projected at 4.4 percent. The next meeting is scheduled for December 2 to 4, 2026.

RBI minutes show unanimous hike, split on tightening stance

Sources