Govt, RBI's Perspective May Differ At Times, Says Shaktikanta Das

The outgoing Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das today said that the perspectives of the finance ministry and RBI may differ at times but they have been able to resolve all such issues. Addressing the media before demitting the officer later today, Das also reiterated that the growth is impacted by a multiplicity of factors, not just repo rate.

"Everyone is entitled to their views but as I look at it, growth is impacted by a multiplicity of factors, not just one factor of repo rate," said Das.

"Our effort has been to make monetary policy as appropriate as keeping the prevailing economic conditions in mind and more importantly the overall outlook," Das added.

He said that within the RBI and its Monetary Policy Committee, what they had done was the best option available and beyond that neither he could nor should comment as he is bound by the silent period of MPC.

Das also pointed out that coordination between the central government, particularly finance ministry, and RBI in the last six years has been at its best.

"Decision making in today's modern dynamic world is very complex and that is why a consultative approach is necessary to add depth and value to the decisions," Das said.

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Das' tenure ends while the country is facing higher inflation with slower growth amid calls for a repo rate cut from the central ministers. India's retail inflation reached a 14-month high of 6.2 per cent in October and its economic growth rate slowed down to 5.4 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year.

While commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal urged the RBI for a rate cut finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also called for an affordable bank borrowing rate.

The RBI has maintained the repo rate at 6.5 per cent since February 2023.

"Restoring the inflation-growth balance is the most important task ahead of the Reserve Bank of India," Das noted in his departing message while highlighting a few important issues that lie ahead of not only the RBI but the wider economy.

Furthermore, Das expressed his confidence that just like UPI (unified payments interface) became a global pioneer in payment systems, ULI (unified lending interface) will be transformational in credit delivery to the bottom of the pyramid.

"The ease of access, speed and simplicity characteristics make ULI unique. Sitting outside I would be watching for a nationwide rollout of ULI," Das added.

He also stressed that CBDC (central bank digital currency) is the future of currency. He also advised the team at RBI to remain agile and alert amid constantly evolving geopolitics and geoeconomics.

Das also emphasised the importance of cyber security and the threats associated to it. He said that in the last six years, he paid special attention to fighting these challenges along with the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub.