The Reserve Bank of India has, once again, used the scalpel in its monetary policy toolbox to cut the repo rate to 5.15 per cent, ostensibly to kick-start a faltering economy. The central bank is only too aware that hacking the policy rate will not magically ignite a moribund economy. The Central Statistics Office had pencilled a growth rate of 5 per cent in the first quarter ended June 30, the slowest growth rate in over six years. The RBI has now second-guessed the growth rate in the second quarter ended September 30 at 5.3 per cent. The steady stream of gloomy data confutes everything that the Centre has been saying about the economy.

Source: The Telegraph October 09, 2019 20:03 UTC