A no-action monetary policy buys time for growth

The job of breaking the back of inflation is left to the government's proactive supply management strategies, for now

There is no surprise in the script of Friday’s no-action policy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the last before the Union Budget in February.

On expected lines, the banking regulator has accepted that the inflation will rise higher than its estimate and Indian economy will fare better than what it had anticipated in its October policy. Yet, it has continued with its accommodative stance — for now and even next year — and is ready to do anything to support growth, mauled by Covid-19 pandemic.

The market was apprehensive of some measures to drain excess liquidity in the system, which