Karti refuses to appear before CBI in alleged graft case
NEW DELHI: Former finance minister P Chidambaram’s son Karti on Wednesday refused to appear before the CBI in an alleged graft case, seeking withdrawal of the summons issued to him till the Supreme Court decides his petition challenging the probe agency’s notice. The CBI is investigating how Karti allegedly managed to get a clearance from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in the Aircel-maxis deal when his father was the finance minister in 2006. MUMBAI: Home and auto loan rates are unlikely to change, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) left its key policy rate unchanged on Wednesday, citing higher risks to inflation.
The central bank slashed its growth forecast and raised its inflation forecast. Economists said rate cuts in the near term are unlikely as RBI waits for the growth and inflation situation to evolve. On Wednesday, the sixmember monetary policy committee left the repurchase (repo) rate — the rate at which RBI lends money to banks against bonds — unchanged at 6%. The decision was not unanimous.
Ravindra Dholakia, one of the three external members of the panel, pressed for lowering rates by at least 25 basis points. One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
India’s economic growth decelerated to 5.7% in the quarter ended June, the slowest pace in three years, as it felt the lingering impact of the November invalidation of high-value banknotes.
Production cuts and destocking ahead of the July 1 implementation of GST also contributed to the slowdown. Consumer price inflation quickened in August to 3.36% from 2.36% a month ago.
“From the borrowers’ standpoint, there is not going to be any change in the interest rates. Interest rates will largely remain