MUMBAI (Reuters) - Four out of seven members in the Reserve Bank of India's technical advisory panel recommended the central bank cut the repo rate at its monetary policy review this month because of easing inflation and signs of a soft economy.
Of the four members, one recommended the repo rate be cut by 50 basis points, while the rest suggested a 25 bps cut, according to a summary provided by the RBI on Tuesday.
But India's central bank governor Raghuram Rajan ended up siding with the minority, keeping the policy rate on hold at 7.25 percent on Aug. 4, while leaving the door open to ease further depending on the inflation outlook and how swiftly banks lower their lending rates.
The technical advisory committee has no voting powers on rate decisions and its recommendations are merely meant to guide the central bank governor in taking decisions.
(Reporting by Neha Dasgupta; Editing by Anand Basu)
