Will Reserve Bank Of India Hike Repo Rate By 35 Bps Or 50 Bps

The Reserve Bank's rate-setting panel started brainstorming for the next round of monetary policy amid expectations of a moderate interest rate hike of 25-35 basis points as inflation has started showing signs of easing and economic growth tapering. The RBI has hiked key benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points (bps) thrice since June over and above an off-cycle 40 bps increase in the repo in May. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das would be announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy on Wednesday (December 7) at the conclusion of the three-day of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meet. India's largest lender State Bank of India in a research report authored by Group Chief Economic Adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh on Monday said: "We expect the #rbi to hike rates in smaller magnitude in December policy attuned to emerging market central banks and the overall rate-setting tone. A 35bps repo rate hike looks imminent. We believe at 6.25 percent, it could be the terminal rate for now".The current policy repo rate is 5.9 percent. Several other experts also expect the rate hike to be in the range of 25-35 basis points. And to decode the state of the economy further, Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor, BTTV speaks to Siddhartha Sanyal, Chief Economist & HoR, Bandhan Bank