Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Bimal Jalan today said that the bank is not in a "hurry" to cut the bank rate.
He, however, said that RBI would continue to maintain a softer interest rate bias.
The RBI said it would release its annual monetary and credit policy for financial year 2002-03 on April 29.
Jalan was speaking to reporters before the NCAER board meeting today. He also did not elaborate on what he considered as soft interest rate.
The central bank last year slashed bank rate thrice to 6.5 per cent. RBI also cut the repo auction rate (the rate of repurchase of government securities) by 0.5 percentage points to 6 per cent.
Finance minister Yashwant Sinha had in his Budget for 2002-03 announced slashing small saving rate by 0.5 per cent which prompted speculations that RBI would also reduce bank rate.
Asked whether the apex bank would consider a bank rate cut during the 2002-03 credit policy scheduled to be released on April 29, Jalan said, "We will think about it. We are always thinking about these things."
He, however, declined to comment as to whether the current high fiscal deficit and borrowing target were unfavourable for rate cut.
The RBI governor added that "liquidity and interest rate conditions are favourable."
Asked about the government's market borrowing, Jalan said, "I see no problem in the borrowings just now."
Government's net market borrowing in 2001-02 is projected to overshoot the targeted of Rs 91,480 crore.
