RBI Monetary Policy Meet 2026 LIVE: Fraud-hit customers will be compensated up to Rs 25,000, or 85% of amount

Sudipta Roy, MD & CEO, L&T Finance Ltd, said: "RBI’s messages on its dynamic and preemptive approach in liquidity management should help ease recent pressure on cost of funding. Sector-specific steps like doubling of collateral free loan limit for MSMEs and boosting long term funding for Real Estate sector via REITs is a big positive for credit landscape in the economy. Growth push evident in both fiscal and monetary policy announcements this week.”

Vikrant Chaturvedi, associate director (Research) at Brickwork Ratings, said: “The MPC’s upward revision to its GDP growth projections for early FY2027 to 6.9 percent in Q1 and 7.0 percent in Q2, underscores the strength of domestic growth drivers, particularly services, investment and consumption. Notably, the absence of any explicit liquidity guidance in the policy statement points to a preference for letting financial conditions evolve organically rather than actively easing them at this stage.”

Amit Prakash Singh, Co-founder & CBO, Urban Money, says: "From a mortgage and lending perspective, the RBI’s decision provides a much-needed stability for the home loan market. With the benefits of earlier rate cuts yet to be fully transmitted, efficient and timely pass through by lenders will be critical to sustain demand.”

Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar said: “A pause in the repo rate sustains the gradual moderation in deposit returns already underway following earlier policy actions. High-yield fixed deposits are becoming increasingly selective, with most mainstream offerings consolidating within a narrower band... Investors assessing locking strategies may benefit from spreading allocations across multi-year tenures to preserve returns before further repricing takes place."

Rishi Anand, MD & CEO, Aadhar Housing Finance Ltd said: "By keeping rates unchanged and having a neutral stance, the RBI is giving the economy time to absorb and pass on the impact of earlier rate cuts. While near-term inflation expectations have moved up slightly, rate stability supports borrower confidence and growth momentum."

Bhavin Patel, co-founder & CEO, LenDenClub & Vartis Platforms said the three draft guidelines announced during MPC today on preventing misselling, ensuring fair and transparent recovery practices, and clearly defining limited liability in unauthorised electronic transactions create greater accountability across the lending ecosystem. "Similarly, the proposed compensation for losses arising from small-value fraudulent transactions acts as both a deterrent against misuse and a meaningful safety net for customers who become victims of fraud."

"The MPC’s decision provides stability for capital-intensive sectors like construction and infrastructure, supporting credit flow and long-term investment. This aligns strongly with Union Budget 2026, which has reinforced its focus on infrastructure through higher capex of ₹12.2 lakh crore and an enhanced Construction and Infrastructure Equipment (CIE) scheme to promote domestic manufacturing of high-value, advanced equipment," said Vyom Agarwal, president of ACE - Action Construction Equipment Ltd.

Nitin Bavisi, CFO, Ajmera Realty says: "Allowing banks to lend to REITs will go a long way in instilling confidence, especially in overseas investors, ultimately boosting FDI inflows into the country. Going forward, as India continues on its growth charter, residential real estate is increasingly emerging as a preferred investment avenue, given the factors including security... Moreover, RBI's move to maintain the interest rates at the same levels is a reflection of the confidence that India is exhibiting high economic growth while being cautious regarding the inflation, which is largely benign. The move to dismantle the Rs 2.5 lakh crore cap under the Voluntary Retention Route is a strong step for attracting foreign capital."

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra has said fraud-hit customers will be compensated up to Rs 25,000, or 85% of the total amount, as long as the transaction is not malafide or intentionally done to deceive the system.

Adhil Shetty, CEO, BankBazaar said that a pause in policy rates indicated a continuation of the cautious equilibrium, where the central bank balances domestic transmission with global macro risks. "Bond market participants may interpret this as supportive of stable-to-gradually-softening yields, creating a constructive environment for medium- to long-duration debt and guilt funds over time. For mutual fund investors, a stable rate regime allows capital appreciation opportunities in debt portfolios without immediate yield compression, while equity markets benefit from policy continuity and earnings visibility. A balanced asset allocation approach — combining steady SIP flows in equities with calibrated duration exposure in debt—continues to remain an effective strategy for navigating evolving interest rate cycles,” he said.

Kunal Shah, Co-founder of liability management firm SURE, said status quo will allow the economy to absorb the monetary changes introduced over the course of the last financial year. Neutral chance also ensure, RBI can deliver another rate cut if outlook on inflation turns favourable and global commodity prices normalise.

Executive VP & chief investment officer at Axis Max Life Insurance Sachin Bajaj said the status quo came against a backdrop of "heightened geopolitical uncertainty, inflation below the lower end of the MPC tolerance band, and volatile currency markets". However, he expects "space for further monetary support if growth slows down. We anticipate a final 25 basis point cut in the repo rate to 5% during the early part of the next financial year to address growth concerns emanating from the uncertain global environment."

Phanisekhar Ponangi, co-founder & CIO, Mavenark Asset Managers Private Ltd said: "Any further reduction in rates would have put the pressure on rupee recovering from the conclusion of the India-US trade deal while not leading to monetary transmission on the ground."

Mr. Rajesh Singla CEO & Fund Manager, Alpha AIF, said: "With inflation under control and GDP growth strong, the repo rate pause supports consumption, private investment, and credit stability. It ensures predictable borrowing costs, aids banks’ margins, supports government borrowing, stabilises the Rupee, and sustains sectoral momentum (housing, infra, manufacturing) while keeping policy flexibility for future shocks."

Current account deficit to remain 'moderate' in current fiscal year, says RBI Guv Sanjay Malhotra.

With the repo rate unchanged, the Standing Deposit Facility rate continues at 5 per cent, while the Marginal Standing Facility rate and the Bank Rate remain steady at 5.5 per cent. The repo rate had been cut a cumulative 125 bps since February 2025.

The RBI has proposed to ease branch opening norms for Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

Governor Sanjay Malhotra says system liquidity remained at Rs 75,000 crore on daily average basis as RBI took several steps to boost liquidity in December-January. The RBI will remain 'pro activity' in liquidity management to meet productive requirements of economy he said. The RBI MPC further found that government security (G-Sec) yields continued to stabilise over last eight months, mirroring global trends.

The RBI has projected inflation for the current fiscal year at 2.1 %, 4% for Q1 in FY27, and 4.2% in Q2. Forex forex reserves are very healthy at USD 723.8 billion at January end. The current account deficit to remain 'moderate' in current fiscal year, says RBI Guv Sanjay Malhotra.

Domestic inflation and growth outlook remain positive and Indian economy remains resilient, says RBI Guv Sanjay Malhotra.

Guv Sanjay Malhotra says repo rate will remain unchanged at 5.25%.

At its previous MPC meeting in December, the RBI had cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25 per cent, bringing the total cuts to 125 bps since February 2025. The decision was announced by Governor Sanjay Malhotra on December 5. Alongside the rate cut, the RBI also maintained its 'neutral' policy stance.

The central bank had projected India’s economy to expand by 7.3 per cent in the current financial year 2025-26, an upward revision of about half a percentage point from its earlier estimate, reflecting stronger confidence in domestic demand and overall growth momentum.

Economists noted that the central bank has already lowered the repo rate by a cumulative 125 basis points since February last year and may opt to maintain the status quo, citing the absence of immediate concerns on growth or inflation. However, some analysts believe there is still room for another rate cut to further ease borrowing costs.

Equity benchmarks opened on a muted note ahead of the MPC announcement on February 6, with the Nifty hovering around the 25,600 mark in early trade. At the opening bell, the Sensex slipped 79.77 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 83,234.16, while the Nifty declined 36.05 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 25,606.75.

Ahead of the MPC announcement, the equity benchmarks retreated sharply on Thursday, bringing an end to a three-session winning streak, as investors turned cautious amid weak global cues amid rising geopolitical tensions.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slid 503.76 points, or 0.60 per cent, to close at 83,313.93. During intraday trade, the index fell as much as 666.07 points, or 0.79 per cent, to hit a low of 83,151.62. Market breadth remained negative, with 2,447 stocks declining, 1,737 advancing and 158 ending flat on the BSE. The NSE Nifty also ended lower, shedding 133.20 points, or 0.52 per cent, to settle at 25,642.80.

The repo rate is the interest rate at which the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lends short-term funds to commercial banks against government securities. It is a monetary policy tool used to control inflation and regulate liquidity in the economy. When the RBI raises the repo rate, borrowing becomes costlier for banks, often leading to higher loan interest rates for individual customers and businesses. This brings down borrowing and controls inflation.

On the other hand, a cut in the repo rate makes borrowing cheaper, encouraging spending and investment to support economic growth. This regulates liquidity in the economy.

The RBI Monetary Policy Committee will announce its decision on repo rate today around 10 AM after it concludes its three day meeting. Governor Sanjay Malhotra will make the announcement. This is the first meeting of the MPC after Budget 2026 and the final bi-monthly meeting of FY26.