Speeches & Media Interactions

Participants from the RBI:

Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Shri Swaminathan J. – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India
Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India
Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India

Moderator:
Shri Yogesh Dayal – Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India

Yogesh Dayal:
Hello everyone and welcome to the Reserve Bank of India for this post- Monetary policy press conference. As always, we have here our respected Governor Shri Shaktikanta Das and along with him, our Deputy Governors; Dr. M. D. Patra, Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao, Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Shri Swaminathan J. and also with us today, our Executive Directors Dr. O. P. Mall and Dr. Rajiv Ranjan. With this, I welcome all of you to the RBI’s press conference and before going ahead with the press conference, I will request the Governor to make a few opening remarks. Over to you Sir.

Shaktikanta Das:
Thank you. As I have done on previous occasions, I would like to summarise whatever I have said in my statement, and I have nine points very quickly.

1. Domestic economic activity continues to be resilient. India is poised to become the new growth engine of the world.

2. Declining core inflation is a silver line. But headline CPI inflation remains vulnerable to recurring and overlapping food price shocks.

3. The MPC remains highly alert and will not hesitate to take timely and appropriate action if the situation warrants.

4. It is emphatically reiterated that the inflation target is 4% and not 2% to 6%. Hence, monetary policy needs to remain actively disinflationary at the current juncture.

5. Liquidity will be actively managed consistent with the monetary policy stance. OMO sales will be undertaken, as necessary.

6. Banks with surplus funds are encouraged to lend in the interbank call market for better returns instead of passively parking them in the SDF.

7. The financial sector balance sheet remains robust, while the Reserve Bank is closely monitoring the emerging trends. Banks and NBFCs are expected to strengthen their internal surveillance mechanisms and institute suitable safeguards wherever necessary.

8. Financial stability is fundamental to price stability and growth. That is the core principle which we follow.

9. The external sector is eminently manageable.

Thank you.

Yogesh Dayal:
Thank you Sir for those opening remarks. I will begin the press conference by inviting Mr. Anup Roy from Bloomberg to ask his question.

Anup Roy, Bloomberg:
Sir, this is regarding the OMO announcement that you did. So, will there be a calendar for OMO and is this in preparation for the JP Morgan bond index inclusion?

Shaktikanta Das:
As I have said in my statement, the first thing I would like to say is that it has nothing to do with the bond index inclusion and let me reiterate that it is a part of our domestic liquidity management. With regard to the calendar, I have said that we will watch the evolving trends. There are several moving parts in the whole liquidity scenario. We will watch the evolving trends and we will notify as and when it becomes necessary. So, we do not, at the moment, propose to give a calendar.

Participants from the RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri Swaminathan J. – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator:
Shri Yogesh Dayal – Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India

Participants from the RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy

CNN Reserve Bank of India Governor. It is good to see your message on the growth of India, but at the same time, you are not immune to the spillover effects of both the slowdown in the West or the other countries, and the higher inflation rates and interest rates. Shaktikanta Das On growth, the year which we just concluded on 31st of March, i.e., the financial year 2022-23; India is expected to have recorded GDP growth of 7.0%. For the current financial year, i.e., Ap

Participants from RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal – C

Governor, Shri Shaktikanta Das delivered the 17th K P Hormis Commemorative Lecture on ‘G20 for a Better Global Economic Order during India’s Presidency’ at Kochi on March 17, 2023. After the lecture, the Governor interacted with the audience. The edited excerpts of the interaction are placed below. Moderator: Thank you, sir. The forum is open to questions. If you have any, kindly raise your hand. Gayathri Suresh, FISAT Business School: Good afternoon, sir. My name is

In the Spotlight programme of All India Radio (AIR), Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India gave an exclusive interview on the cross-border linkage between India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow digital payment systems. AIR: Today, our cross-border linkage was launched between India’s UPI and Singapore’s PayNow digital payment systems. To discuss this milestone and global financial connectivity, we have with us, Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Deputy Governor, R

Participants from the Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India: Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman – Finance Minister Dr. Bhagwat Kishanrao Karad – Minister of State Shri Pankaj Chaudhary – Minister of State Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal – Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India Yogesh Dayal: Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the post-Central Board meeting press conference. Today, we have with us Honorable Fi

Participants from RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal –

Moderator: Hello, ladies and gentlemen, I don't think I need to introduce the RBI Governor to you. All of you know him, so we can get started straight away. Mr. Das, thank you very much for finding the time today. Has it been the most challenging year of your tenure or would you say the COVID year 2020 was more challenging? Shaktikanta Das: Every challenge in a particular context looks more challenging than the previous one. There were so many situations when I was a

Tamal Bandyopadhyay: A very warm welcome to this fireside chat. I am a bit nervous sir. You always wear a different kind of tie. What is the brand that you prefer? Shaktikanta Das: It goes with the season and a Central Bank has to be for all seasons. Tamal Bandyopadhyay: Somebody told me that if you want to speak to someone and make them feel at ease, you start talking about ties. Mr Dave, CEO, HSBC India is sitting here. He was trying to excite me to ask all sorts of

Participants from RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Shri Saurav Sinha – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Shri R. Subramanian – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal – Chief General Manager, Reserve Bank of India  ​

Sukumar Ranganathan Good afternoon, everyone. I have with me Mr. Shaktikanta Das, who really needs no introduction, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; and I think we can all safely say that his has been one of the reassuring voices, every time when he comes on television to present his policy, especially over the last two years in the course of the pandemic. The Bank has seen us through a really tough phase, and there are challenges ahead, so he and I are goin

Participants from RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal –

ज़ी बिजनेस आरबीआई ने कोविड-19 पेंडेमिक के समय देश के बैंकिंग सिस्टम और अर्थव्यवस्था को बड़े मुश्किल दौर से निकालने का काम किया है। ब्याज दरों में तेज कटौती करके, सिस्टम में लिक्विडिटी डालकर, जरूरत पड़ने पर मोराटोरियम देकर और साथ ही साथ लोंस की रिस्ट्रक्चरिंग को आसान करके, अर्थव्यवस्था को उस वक्त जिस बड़े सहारे की जरूरत थी, बैंकिंग सिस्टम को थी, वह काम किया। लेकिन आरबीआई का काम ऐसा है कि चुनौतियां कभी खत्म नहीं होती। अभी भी कुछ बड़ी और नई चुनौतियां हैं, दुनिया भर से भी, और हमारी अपनी भी। एक ओर महंगाई तेजी से बढ़ती जा रही है, ब्याज दरें बढ़ रही है और दूसरी तरफ मजबूत अर्थव्यवस्था में ग्रोथ बरकरार रखने की चुनौतियाँ है। आइए इसी खास मुद्दे पर आज हमारे साथ एक बेहद खास मेहमान, भारतीय रिज़र्व बैंक के गवर्नर श्री शक्तिकान्त दास साहब कार्यक्रम में शामिल हो रहे हैं।

The Indian economy has emerged as a strong economy post the COVID crisis. Thanks to the Jugalbandi between the Reserve Bank of India and the Government of India; the Indian economy on a relative basis and also an absolute basis now, clearly is on a pedestal positioning. But the challenges of yesterday are different, and the challenges of today are, in a sense, centred around inflation, geopolitical crisis and a high-interest rate regime. So to understand, what is the

Participants from RBI: Shri Shaktikanta Das – Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. K. Jain – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Michael D. Patra – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Shri T. Rabi Sankar – Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India Dr. O. P. Mall – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Dr. Rajiv Ranjan – Executive Director, Reserve Bank of India Moderator: Shri Yogesh Dayal –

Sanjiv Chadha, Managing Director, Bank of Baroda Thank you very much, Governor once again for that tour de force. We are really reassured about the fact that in terms of the external sector, despite what is happening in the neighbouring countries, India is in a different and very strong place. Also, I think the areas you covered in terms of what banks need to focus on, I am sure that will define the agenda for not only this conference but also for the next few years.

Q: What are the risks and opportunities for the Indian economy? The revival of economic activity continues to be steady and is gaining traction. GDP has exceeded 2019-20 levels, and from April 2022 onwards, many high-frequency indicators that we monitor are showing steady improvement. The economy is back on track. In terms of business activities or investment, the opportunities are larger in pharma, technology, and renewables, etc. The other opportunity for India is t