New Delhi: The Reserve Bank of India is duty-bound to maintain the inflation rate at 4 per cent for which it uses the tools of monetary policy to ensure adequate liquidity in the system. The repo rate is the primary weapon in the monetary policy arsenal and is used by the RBI to monitor the money supply in India’s financial system.
The repo rate is the rate at which the RBI loans money to commercial banks for a short time window. When the repo rate is high, banks are compelled to raise money from other sources than the RBI. When the repo rate is low, banks are encouraged to borrow more from the central bank.
Repo rate changes have a cascading effect on your finances since home loans and other key personal loans are directly linked to the repo rate. RBI governor Shaktikanta Das on Friday announced that the monetary policy committee had voted by 4:2 for the repo rate to remain unchanged at 6.50 per cent with a withdrawal of the accommodation stance.
The repo rate has remained unchanged since February 2023. This brings us to a question, how many rate cuts or hikes has the RBI made in recent times. Since April 2022, the RBi has hiked the repo rate by 250 basis points to 6.50 per cent from 4 per cent.
RBI repo rate history chart from 2000 to 2024
The RBI has seen multiple governors between the year 2000 and 2024. Based on the state of the economy, these governors made varying decisions to maintain stability. The most challenging of these were the 2008 financial crisis followed by the 2091- COVID-19 pandemic as well as the geopolitical flashpoint of the Russia-Ukraine War.
Date
RBI Repo Rate
06/04/24
6.50%
08/02/24
6.50%
08-12-2023
6.50%
06-10-2023
6.50%
10-08-2023
6.50%
08-06-2023
6.50%
06-04-2023
6.50%
08-02-2023
6.50%
07-12-2022
6.25%
30-09-2022
5.90%
05-08-2022
5.40%
08-06-2022
4.90%
04-05-2022
4.40%
08-04-2022
4.00%
10-02-2022
4.00%
08-12-2021
4.00%
09-10-2021
4.00%
06-08-2021
4.00%
04-06-2021
4.00%
07-04-2021
4.00%
05-02-2021
4.00%
04-12-2020
4.00%
09-10-2020
4.00%
06-08-2020
4.00%
22-05-2020
4.00%
27-03-2020
4.40%
06-02-2020
5.15%
05-12-2019
5.15%
04-10-2019
5.15%
07-08-2019
5.40%
06-06-2019
5.75%
04-04-2019
6.00%
07-02-2019
6.25%
01-08-2018
6.50%
06-06-2018
6.25%
07-02-2018
6.00%
02-08-2017
6.00%
04-10-2016
6.25%
05-04-2016
6.50%
29-09-2015
6.75%
02-06-2015
7.25%
04-03-2015
7.50%
15-01-2015
7.75%
28-01-2014
8.00%
29-10-2013
7.75%
20-09-2013
7.50%
03-05-2013
7.25%
17-03-2011
6.75%
25-01-2011
6.50%
02-11-2010
6.25%
16-09-2010
6.00%
27-07-2010
5.75%
02-07-2010
5.50%
20-04-2010
5.25%
19-03-2010
5.00%
21-04-2009
4.75%
05-03-2009
5.00%
05-01-2009
5.50%
08-12-2008
6.50%
03-11-2008
7.50%
20-10-2008
8.00%
30-07-2008
9.00%
25-06-2008
8.50%
12-06-2008
8.00%
30-03-2007
7.75%
31-01-2007
7.50%
30-10-2006
7.25%
25-07-2006
7.00%
24-01-2006
6.50%
24-01-2006
6.50%
26-10-2005
6.25%
26-10-2005
6.25%
31-03-2004
6.00%
19-03-2003
7.00%
07-03-2003
7.10%
12-11-2002
7.50%
28-03-2002
8.00%
07-06-2001
8.50%
30-04-2001
8.75%
09-03-2001
9.00%
06-11-2000
10.00%
13-10-2000
10.25%
06-09-2000
13.50%
30-08-2000
15.00%
09-08-2000
16.00%
21-07-2000
10.00%
13-07-2000
9.00%
28-06-2000
12.25%
27-06-2000
12.60%
23-06-2000
13.05%
22-06-2000
13.00%
21-06-2000
13.50%
20-06-2000
14.00%
19-06-2000
13.50%
14-06-2000
10.85%
13-06-2000
9.55%
12-06-2000
9.25%
09-06-2000
9.05%
07-06-2000
9.00%
05-06-2000
9.05%
The Reserve Bank of India has witnessed many challenges between 2000 and 2008, ranging from the 2008 financial crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and then the consequences of the Russia-Ukraine War. Here’s how the repo rate changed over the years. Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today
