A 35-basis-point rate increase could be par for the course

This will take the policy rate to 6.25% and the RBI can continue with an open-ended statement, refraining from sounding dovish

Expectations of yet another rate hike next week are a no-brainer. The speculations ahead of the December meeting of the Indian central bank’s rate-setting body, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), are on the quantum of the rate hike.
 

Will the MPC continue the pace of hike with another giant step of 50 basis points (bps)? Will it go for the baby step of a 25-bps rate hike, for a change? Or, will it settle for the golden middle way — a 35-bps hike to take the policy rate to 6.25 per cent?

Since May, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has