Ordinary people are worried that the prices of essential commodities may go up further as the Reserve Bank governor has said that India’s economy will fall further and inflation will rise.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) monetary policy review meeting was held in Mumbai on the back of rising prices of essential medicines, vegetables, petrol, diesel and cooking gas. In it, Reserve Bank Governor Shakti Kantadas said the war in Ukraine had created many new problems in economic growth.
He also expressed concern that the price of crude oil, cooking oil and metals would have a severe impact on the international market. Moreover, his claim that the country’s inflation is high and economic growth is lower than expected has worried the poor and middle class.
The meeting also decided to keep the bank interest rate repo at 4 per cent. Similarly, the interest rate on deposits held by banks with the Reserve Bank will remain unchanged at 3.35 per cent. While this will not change the interest rates on loans, there is a risk that the rise in inflation will be reflected in the prices of all the commodities we use.