RBI TO REVIVE PRE-POLICY MEETINGS WITH INDUSTRY

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had revived the practice of meeting bankers and industry associations prior to formulating the monetary policy, sources said.

The RBI had revived the practice of meeting bankers and industry associations prior to formulating the monetary policy, sources said.

The input received from bankers and industry executives would be a key discussion point for the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) at its two-day meeting on April 4 and 5. Sources said such meetings would now be routine.

Earlier, it was customary for the RBI to take feedback from bankers and industry associations before formulating the policy, which was decided by the RBI governor alone. After the constitution of the MPC, which coincided with Urjit Patel’s first policy as RBI governor, industry-level meetings stopped. The meetings could start early next week.

“The banking industry and the corporate world are facing a lot of stress and these are important stakeholders in the present economic scenario. A policy cannot be formulated without knowing how it will impact bankers and the corporate world,” said a source.

The April policy, being the first one of the new fiscal year, is important as it spells out overall path of the policy and outlook on aspects such as inflation and growth. A number of regulatory measures are also taken.