Pankaj Chaudhary (MoS Finance) said that the government will not release Reserve Bank of India letters on missing inflation target.
As required by Sectiom 45ZN, the RBI Act, the Centre has received a report from RBI.
Pankaj Chaudhary, minister of state for finances, replied in writing that “Yes sir. RBI has furnished a rapport to the central government as mandated by Section 45ZN and Regulation 7 of RBI Monetary Policy Committee and Monetary Policy process Regulations (2016)”. He stated that the RBI Act, 1934 and its regulations do not allow for the publication of the report.
This report was necessary because average inflation was higher than the target inflation level (6% for three consecutive quarters between January and September 2022).
The average inflation in January-March quarter was 6.3%. In April-June, it was 7.3%. It eased to 7% during the September quarter.
The RBI was required to explain to the government for the first time since 2016’s monetary policy framework became effective.
Since January 2022, the retail inflation calculated using Consumer Price Index (CPI), has been above 6%. In September, it was 7.41%. Governor Shaktikanta Das heads the six-member MPC that decides bi-monthly on monetary policy.
The RBI has increased the short-term lending rate (repo), by 2.25 basis points since May. This brings it to a record of 6.25%, almost three years after its previous high of 6.25%.
