RBI may change stance; rate cut unlikely

If data supports, we could see a rate cut next financial year but that may not signal the beginning of a new cycle

Today, if we take a poll of Indian industrialists on their expectations from the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) last bi-monthly policy for the 2019 fiscal year, 10 out of 10 will pitch for a rate cut. They are also rooting for a cut in the banks’ cash reserve ratio (CRR) —  or the portion of deposits kept with the RBI — to release money into the system. 

Indisposed finance minister Arun Jaitley too has asked for a rate cut, albeit indirectly — saying, India cannot have a real rate of interest that's higher than anywhere else in the world.