The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked its key interest rate, the repo rate, by 25 basis points on Wednesday and lowered its growth and inflation projections.

The repo rate is the interest banks pay to borrow from the central bank, and an increase in that rate makes banks raise their lending charges.

The latest is the sixth consecutive rate hike, taking the RBI's key rate to 6.50 per cent.

In all, the RBI has raised the benchmark rate by 2.5 per cent since May last year in its fight against inflation, which stayed above the higher end of the central bank's target of 2-6 per cent&nbsp;in 10 of the 12 months last year.

The central bank had to send a mandatory report to the government explaining why it could not meet its inflation target for most months last year.

What does the RBI rate hike mean?

Indian banks are certain to pass on the latest hike to customers almost immediately, as seen in recent months.

That will make loans costlier and lead to higher equated monthly instalments (EMIs).

All consumer loans have become costlier over the past year.

Indian households continue to be under pressure from mounting interest and rising EMIs even as they struggle to manage their monthly budgets from rising prices of almost everything.

The series of relatively large RBI rate hikes have sparked concerns that the battle against inflation could also risk curbing economic growth.

That view has forced several top institutions, including the RBI, to downgrade their India GDP growth forecasts for 2023-24.

But RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Indian economy remains resilient and is seen as a bright spot in a gloomy world.

He also warned inflation is sticky and likely to remain above the central bank's target of 4 per cent&nbsp;this year, and as such, caution is needed.

Still, slowing growth concerns have driven expectations that the RBI's hands will be forced to pause rate hikes at some point soon.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/explained-does-writing-on-indian-rupee-make-it-invalid-heres-a-fact-check-551817">Explained: Does writing on Indian rupee make it invalid? Here's a fact check</a>

A Reuters poll taken before Wednesday's decision showed post the latest hike, India's central bank will pause on interest rates.

But the central bank's tone suggests otherwise, with the RBI Governor opening the door for more hikes.

Like other major central banks, the RBI is waiting for stubbornly high inflation to ease further before it moves away from an aggressive approach.

What is not helping is the reason for the global inflation surge over the past year - the disruptions to global supply chains because of the Russia-Ukraine war.

That war on the edge of Europe shows no signs of abating, and instead, the standoff now seems to be escalating further.

That will keep global central banks on their toes.

(With inputs from agencies)

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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked its key interest rate, the repo rate, by 25 basis points on Wednesday and lowered its growth and inflation projections. The repo rate is the interest banks pay to borrow from the central bank, and an increase in that rate makes banks raise their lending charges.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked its key interest rate, the repo rate, by 25 basis points on Wednesday and lowered its growth and inflation projections. The repo rate is the interest banks pay to borrow from the central bank, and an increase in that rate makes banks raise their lending charges. The latest is the sixth consecutive rate hike, taking the RBI's key rate to 6.50 per cent. In all, the RBI has raised the benchmark rate by 2.5 per cent since May last year in its fight against inflation, which stayed above the higher end of the central bank's target of 2-6 per cent in 10 of the 12 months last year. The central bank had to send a mandatory report to the government explaining why it could not meet its inflation target for most months last year. What does the RBI rate hike mean? Indian banks are certain to pass on the latest hike to customers almost immediately, as seen in recent months. That will make loans costlier and lead to higher equated monthly instalments (EMIs). All consumer loans have become costlier over the past year. Indian households continue to be under pressure from mounting interest and rising EMIs even as they struggle to manage their monthly budgets from rising prices of almost everything. The series of relatively large RBI rate hikes have sparked concerns that the battle against inflation could also risk curbing economic growth. That view has forced several top institutions, including the RBI, to downgrade their India GDP growth forecasts for 2023-24. But RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Indian economy remains resilient and is seen as a bright spot in a gloomy world. He also warned inflation is sticky and likely to remain above the central bank's target of 4 per cent this year, and as such, caution is needed. Still, slowing growth concerns have driven expectations that the RBI's hands will be forced to pause rate hikes at some point soon. Explained: Does writing on Indian rupee make it invalid? Here's a fact check A Reuters poll taken before Wednesday's decision showed post the latest hike, India's central bank will pause on interest rates. But the central bank's tone suggests otherwise, with the RBI Governor opening the door for more hikes. Like other major central banks, the RBI is waiting for stubbornly high inflation to ease further before it moves away from an aggressive approach. What is not helping is the reason for the global inflation surge over the past year - the disruptions to global supply chains because of the Russia-Ukraine war. That war on the edge of Europe shows no signs of abating, and instead, the standoff now seems to be escalating further. That will keep global central banks on their toes. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

Loans, EMIs to get costlier after RBI hikes rates for the sixth time in a row

Urjit Patel who took over as the 24th governor of the Reserve Bank of India will have a tough task in maintaining the legacy of his predecessor, Raghuram Rajan, and balance the need to contain inflation without hurting growth. 
 
Patel assumed charge effective September 4, 2016, after serving as deputy governor since January 2013, RBI said in a statement today. 
 
He was reappointed as deputy governor on January 11, 2016, after the completion of his first three-year term in office. 
 
Ensuring undisruptive redemption totalling USD 20-25 billion, getting used to the idea of Monetary Policy Committee and bank cleanup are the main challenges before the new Governor. 
 
According to Rajiv Kumar, Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, the first task before him is to get used to the idea of working with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). 
 
&quot;He has to devise a way of working with the committee and getting to the objective of meeting inflation target. Besides, containing food inflation is another challenge before him,&quot; Kumar said. 
 
If food inflation raises its head again then what strategy he will employ to contain it, he asked. 
 
Besides, he should work in a manner that RBI versus the Finance Ministry situation is avoided as all the components are working towards inflation control and employment generation and finally what approach he will adopt to clean balance sheet of the bank or strengthen banks. 
 
Among his assignments as deputy governor, Patel chaired the Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework. 
 
&quot;Representing India, he actively participated in steering the signing into force of the inter-governmental treaty and the Inter-Central Bank Agreement (ICBA) among the BRICS nations, which led to the establishment of the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a swap line framework among the central banks of these countries,&quot; RBI said. 
&nbsp; 
Patel has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was on deputation from the IMF to RBI during 1996-1997, and in that capacity, he provided advice on the&nbsp;development of the debt market, banking reforms, pension reforms, and evolution of the foreign exchange market. 
 
He was a Consultant to the Ministry of Finance from 1998 to 2001. He also had other assignments in public and private sectors, including with Reliance Industries, IDFC Ltd, MCX Ltd and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. 
 
Dr Patel, as he is commonly referred to as, has worked closely with several central and state government high-level committees. These include the Task Force on Direct Taxes, the High-Level Expert Group for Reviewing the Civil &amp; Defence Services Pension System, the Prime Minister&#39;s Task Force on Infrastructure, the Group of Ministers on Telecom Matters, the Committee on Civil Aviation Reforms and the Ministry of Power&#39;s Expert Group on State Electricity Boards. 
 
He has several publications in areas of Indian macroeconomics, monetary policy, public finance, financial sector, international trade, and regulatory economics, the RBI said. 
 
Patel has a PhD in economics from Yale University, an M Phil from University of Oxford and a BSc from the University of London.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)

Patel will face the challenge of ensuring undisruptive redemption totalling $20-25 billion and to contain inflation without hurting growth

Urjit Patel who took over as the 24th governor of the Reserve Bank of India will have a tough task in maintaining the legacy of his predecessor, Raghuram Rajan, and balance the need to contain inflation without hurting growth. Patel assumed charge effective September 4, 2016, after serving as deputy governor since January 2013, RBI said in a statement today. He was reappointed as deputy governor on January 11, 2016, after the completion of his first three-year term in office. Ensuring undisruptive redemption totalling USD 20-25 billion, getting used to the idea of Monetary Policy Committee and bank cleanup are the main challenges before the new Governor. According to Rajiv Kumar, Senior Fellow at Centre for Policy Research, the first task before him is to get used to the idea of working with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). "He has to devise a way of working with the committee and getting to the objective of meeting inflation target. Besides, containing food inflation is another challenge before him," Kumar said. If food inflation raises its head again then what strategy he will employ to contain it, he asked. Besides, he should work in a manner that RBI versus the Finance Ministry situation is avoided as all the components are working towards inflation control and employment generation and finally what approach he will adopt to clean balance sheet of the bank or strengthen banks. Among his assignments as deputy governor, Patel chaired the Expert Committee to Revise and Strengthen the Monetary Policy Framework. "Representing India, he actively participated in steering the signing into force of the inter-governmental treaty and the Inter-Central Bank Agreement (ICBA) among the BRICS nations, which led to the establishment of the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), a swap line framework among the central banks of these countries," RBI said. Patel has also served at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He was on deputation from the IMF to RBI during 1996-1997, and in that capacity, he provided advice on the development of the debt market, banking reforms, pension reforms, and evolution of the foreign exchange market. He was a Consultant to the Ministry of Finance from 1998 to 2001. He also had other assignments in public and private sectors, including with Reliance Industries, IDFC Ltd, MCX Ltd and Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation. Dr Patel, as he is commonly referred to as, has worked closely with several central and state government high-level committees. These include the Task Force on Direct Taxes, the High-Level Expert Group for Reviewing the Civil & Defence Services Pension System, the Prime Minister's Task Force on Infrastructure, the Group of Ministers on Telecom Matters, the Committee on Civil Aviation Reforms and the Ministry of Power's Expert Group on State Electricity Boards. He has several publications in areas of Indian macroeconomics, monetary policy, public finance, financial sector, international trade, and regulatory economics, the RBI said. Patel has a PhD in economics from Yale University, an M Phil from University of Oxford and a BSc from the University of London. (PTI)

Urjit Patel takes over as Reserve Bank of India governor

A gang of robbers cut a hole in the roof of a train travelling through southern India and stole more than $750,000 in cash, police said on today. 
 
The daring heist occurred somewhere along the more than 300-kilometre long journey, but the missing loot was only discovered hours after the express train arrived in the city of Chennai. 
 
The train&#39;s mail carriage was carrying $51 million belonging to India&#39;s central bank and was being escorted by armed police seated in the next compartment. 
 
Police suspect about six to eight robbers made a four-foot square hole in the carriage roof using a cutting torch before escaping undetected with some of the cash. 
 
&quot;We are inquiring with the train guard and the police personnel if they heard any unusual noises on the roof,&quot; said police superintendent P Vijayakumar. 
 
Police said the robbers may have jumped off the train roof and were combing the tracks along the route in search of any of the missing notes. 
 
&quot;They created a manhole and then they sneaked one after the other and lifted the bundles to the roof before taking them away,&quot; inspector general of police M. Ramasubramani, who is heading the investigation, told AFP. 
 
Another police officer was quoted in the Hindu newspaper as saying the gang might have hidden themselves in the carriage before it was locked for the journey on Monday night, before escaping through the roof. 
 
Reserve Bank of India officials discovered the theft yesterday morning when they came to collect the cash from the carriage for disposal. The cash, although still usable, was soiled and was transported from the city of Salem to Chennai for destruction. 
 
The audacious crime has echoes of the &quot;Great Train Robbery&quot; of 1963 when a gang of criminals in Britain stopped a night mail train and made off with 2.6 million pounds. 
 
(AFP)

Police said the robbers may have jumped off the train roof. The mail carriage was carrying $51 million belonging to India's central bank

A gang of robbers cut a hole in the roof of a train travelling through southern India and stole more than $750,000 in cash, police said on today. The daring heist occurred somewhere along the more than 300-kilometre long journey, but the missing loot was only discovered hours after the express train arrived in the city of Chennai. The train's mail carriage was carrying $51 million belonging to India's central bank and was being escorted by armed police seated in the next compartment. Police suspect about six to eight robbers made a four-foot square hole in the carriage roof using a cutting torch before escaping undetected with some of the cash. "We are inquiring with the train guard and the police personnel if they heard any unusual noises on the roof," said police superintendent P Vijayakumar. Police said the robbers may have jumped off the train roof and were combing the tracks along the route in search of any of the missing notes. "They created a manhole and then they sneaked one after the other and lifted the bundles to the roof before taking them away," inspector general of police M. Ramasubramani, who is heading the investigation, told AFP. Another police officer was quoted in the Hindu newspaper as saying the gang might have hidden themselves in the carriage before it was locked for the journey on Monday night, before escaping through the roof. Reserve Bank of India officials discovered the theft yesterday morning when they came to collect the cash from the carriage for disposal. The cash, although still usable, was soiled and was transported from the city of Salem to Chennai for destruction. The audacious crime has echoes of the "Great Train Robbery" of 1963 when a gang of criminals in Britain stopped a night mail train and made off with 2.6 million pounds. (AFP)

Indian robbers cut hole in train roof in $750,000 heist