RBI Governor Malhotra calls on Finance Minister Sitharaman

Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra met Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday.

“Sanjay Malhotra, Governor-@RBI calls on @nsitharaman,” the office of the finance minister said in a post on X. The meeting comes weeks after India logged a record 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of the current financial year despite global uncertainties.

The next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), the RBI’s rate-setting panel, is scheduled for October 5-7, 2026.

In August, the central bank kept the short-term lending rate (repo) unchanged at 5.25 per cent for the fourth time in a row. The Reserve Bank should raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points next month and again in December as a countermeasure to persistent external shocks, elevated crude oil prices and signs of broader inflationary pressures, an SBI research report said on Friday.

“Just one month back, there were practically not much talks of rate hikes, and most (if not all) expected a ‘prolonged pause’. But the situation has changed drastically since then,” it said.

SBI Ecowrap, prepared by the bank’s Economic Research Department, said its call for a rate hike is independent of any forthcoming US Federal Reserve action, while crude prices have recently crossed USD 100 per barrel amid heightened geopolitical uncertainties.

It also estimated that crude prices could reach USD 123 per barrel over the next 15 days amid heightened geopolitical uncertainties.

If oil prices remain at high levels, inflation prints for October and November should move towards 6.5 per cent or higher, it said.