Too premature to shift RBI policy stance; any form of adventurism has to be shunned: Shaktikanta Das

The Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said it is “too premature” to change the monetary policy stance and the apex bank has to shun “adventurism” approach on the rates front.

Speaking at broadcaster ET Now’s Leadership Dialogues here, Das said the Reserve Bank is monitoring the high trading volumes in the futures and options segment along with Sebi, but any action on it will be taken by the markets regulator.

He also said that there is a possibility that the current account deficit for the March quarter, scheduled to be announced next week, will come below the figure of 1.2 per cent for the first nine months of fiscal year 2023-24.

For the first nine months of the fiscal, CAD moderated to 1.2 per cent of GDP, from 2.6 per cent of GDP in the corresponding period a year ago on the back of a lower merchandise trade deficit.

Amid talks of increased inflows after the country’s inclusion in global bond indices, the Governor said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will keep on building reserves to act as necessary tools to contain volatilities in the future. As part of its reserves diversification strategy, it will continue adding gold.

The RBI is confident of the economy growing at its projection of 7.2 per cent in FY25, Das said, underlining that the number is a conservative estimate and its internal analysis is pointing to higher-than-estimated growth in the June quarter.

On inflation, he said even though the core inflation has come down, the food inflation continues to be elevated and there are uncertainties around that as well.

It is too premature to change the stance of the policy, and any form of adventure must be shunned, Das said, adding that the central bank continues to be watchful on this front.

The six-member rate-setting panel has persisted with the current “withdrawal of accommodation” stance and held on to the current repo rate by opting for a status quo in eight consecutive bi-monthly reviews.

However, the number of dissenters in the committee has grown to two now.

Reiterating his comments made earlier, Das said it is the last mile of inflation which is the most sticky.

Inflation is moderating but at a fairly slow pace, he said, adding that the RBI is confident that the downward journey of inflation will continue albeit at a slow pace. “If the downward move on inflation were to be fastened, we will have to take into account the sacrifices on the growth front,” he said.