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: Good afternoon everyone. Hello and welcome to the First Policy of 2024-25. Today with us we have Governor, Shri Shaktikanta Das, Deputy Governors, Dr. M.D. Patra, Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao, Shri T. Rabi Sankar, Shri Swaminathan J., and two Executive Directors, Dr. O. P. Mall and Dr. Rajiv Ranjan. So, as is customary, I would request the Governor to make some opening remarks and then we will go for Q&A.  Shaktikanta Das: Namaskar. I guess I will not be off the mark if I say that the policy overall is on expected lines. So, it demonstrates, I think, the Reserve Bank, the market participants, the market players and perhaps, the media and analysts and all, every stakeholder, thinking is at the moment, well aligned so far as Monetary Policy is concerned. But having said that, I just want to make five observations:

From fragile five to top five, the Indian economy is now enjoying a pedestal positioning. Growth is headed in the right direction, inflation is coming under check, the NPA cycle is weak, and fresh capital formation has started. The Reserve Bank of India Governor and his team have made the impossible look easy. The Indian financial system is now resilient despite all the shocks. But, are the problems of yesterday behind us or will they haunt us? What about global external shocks and the preparedness of the Indian financial system? To get all these answers, I have with me the man of the moment, Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.

Good afternoon and welcome to this Press Conference after the Central Board Meeting where the FM addressed the RBI Central Board.  Also, we had the launch of UPI today in two countries. Before we go ahead with the questions, I will request the Governor to give his Opening Remarks

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

Shaktikanta Das: India today deserves a very much more serious look because of all that is happening in India. The interest this time around in India is genuine. There is a lot of International confidence on the Indian growth story, on the technology story built around India, on the growth prospects of India, and the stability that is the macroeconomic and financial sector stability that India offers. So, my message if you see it in that sense is that we need to really step back and look at the business opportunities in India because this is the right time to get into the Indian business ecosystem.

Shereen Bhan: Welcome to the CNBC-TV18 Special Lunch. We are coming to you live from Davos 2024. You have seen a slew of headlines here on CNBC-TV18 and joining me now is the RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. Mr. Das, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for joining us here on CNBC-TV18. You are quite the envy here of everyone in Davos. Mr. Das, I was looking at a press conference that you were doing a few days ago when you arrived in Davos. Many were almost saying that thewere feeling jealous of the position that you find yourself in.

Vishnu Som: One of the most important announcements which have been made over the last couple of days at the World Economic Forum and on the sidelines here in Davos, Switzerland, is the India Growth Story. There is nobody better placed to talk about growth in India than the RBI Governor. Mr. Shaktikanta Das has joined us now. Thank you very much for being with us. Sir, 7% is extremely optimistic; it is in line, of course, with what some of the global projections are. What are some of the sectors driving this growth?

Hello and welcome to Business Today Television. I am Siddharth Zarabi and with me here is Mr. Shaktikanta Das, the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. Thank you very much, Mr. Das, for joining us at the India Today Business Today studio here at Davos at the World Economic Forum. You have been here. I want to begin with the big question. Last year, the mood around the global economy and the pessimism that existed among CEOs was quite a bit. How is the mood as far as the global economy is concerned? What is your reading of the situation, particularly the supply side bottlenecks that caused a huge inflationary spiral all across the world, Sir?

Haslinda Amin:Preoccupation right now in the markets and everywhere else is rate cuts. When can we expect the RBI to cut rates?

Shaktikanta Das:That will depend on the incoming data. That will depend on the outlook. I find that financial markets all over the world have started talking about rate cuts, whereas the central banks are nowhere near it as per the statements which are coming out from various central banks. So far as India is concerned, inflation has moderated steadily from the peak of 7.8% which we saw immediately after the onset of the Ukraine war. It has come within our target range of 2% to 6%, but our target being 4%, we are still moving towards 4%. Till we reach 4% on a durable basis, it will be too premature to talk about rate cuts in the context of India.Haslinda Amin:But expectations are that you will get to 4% before 2025, which means you will get there this year. Could we possibly see rate cuts in the second half?Shaktikanta Das:I have said yesterday in another forum that our expectation of average headline inflation for the next year 2024-25 starting from the first of April, is 4.5% with several ups and downs. Unless we reach 4%, and unless we see clear evidence that it is going to sustain at that level, it will be really premature to talk about rate cuts and at the moment as I speak to you, the topic of rate cuts in that aspect is not on our table, it is not even under discussion. Our focus is now to remain actively disinflationary to bring inflation to 4%.

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Well, good morning and a warm welcome to this horizon scan session on growth engines for emerging markets. Thank you for joining us here in the Ideas Hub at Davos and thank you to our communities joining us online from around the world. My name is Stephan Mergenthaler from the World Economic Forum and I have the pleasure to facilitate this session.