Reserve Bank of India Holds Repo Rate at 5.50% for Second Consecutive Meeting

The Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.50% at its October 2025 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, delivering the second consecutive pause in the current rate cycle. The decision was reached through a unanimous vote of all MPC members. The RBI published the outcome in a statement on its website, confirming that the stance of monetary policy remains focused on maintaining price stability while supporting sustainable growth.

Alongside the rate decision, the committee revised its GDP growth forecast for the financial year 2026 upward to 6.8%. The MPC nonetheless said growth remained below its aspirations, that projections for Q3 and beyond were slightly lower than earlier, and that current conditions had opened up policy space for further supporting growth.

UNANIMOUS HOLD

All committee members, including the three external members appointed alongside the governor, a deputy governor and an RBI executive director, voted to keep the repo rate at 5.50%. The RBI's target is 4% CPI inflation within a tolerance band of 2–6%; the committee cut its FY2025-26 inflation projection to 2.6% from 3.1%, and two members, Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh, favoured changing the stance from neutral to accommodative.

GROWTH OUTLOOK

The committee signalled it would continue to monitor incoming data on both the inflation and growth fronts before reassessing.

The MPC is scheduled to meet again in December.