Hat-trick on rate hike almost certain, but will the RBI change its stance?

Given the rupee's slide and soaring crude prices, it's almost certain that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will raise the repo rate for the third time in a row. 

In the last policy meet, the RBI hiked repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent, for the second time in a row. Reverse repo -- the rate at which the Reserve Bank borrows money from commercial banks within the country -- was adjusted to 6.25 per cent. The MPC had kept its policy stance neutral.

Most analysts expect the central bank