Ahead of the mid-quarter review of monetary policy on March 17, State Bank of India (SBI) Chairman O P Bhatt said in Lucknow on Monday said there was an upward bias in interest rates. However, he clarified that RBI’s action (to tinker with key policy rates or keep them unchanged) would depend on its thinking and various other factors, including external.
Bhatt said “the current problem is not of liquidity, but inflation and the task is to strike a balance between growth and inflation.” “Key policy rates can be hiked anytime, when RBI decides, be it March 17 or later,” he said.
