Economic situation warrants easing of rates: CEA Arvind Subramanian

After a sharp decline in April, RBI has lowered inflation projection

Seldom have economic conditions warranted a substantial monetary policy easing as they do now, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian said on Wednesday as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left lending rates unchanged citing risks to inflation.

He said "we respect" the views and decisions of RBI in the broader good, but "I wanted to give you my own technical assessment of the inflation and growth outlook".

Talking to reporters after RBI released its statement, Subramanian said there is a plausible alternative macro- economic assessment.

"In this view, not just headline inflation has been running well below the target so far, but even