Raghuram Rajan says open to bond purchases; ready for Fed

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday the central bank's policy was to supply markets with "plentiful" liquidity and said it could "perhaps" do more open market purchases of bonds, depending on long-term liquidity needs.

The comments, at a news briefing after the RBI's board meeting, come after the RBI this week bought 100 billion rupees (USD 1.50 billion) worth of debt, in its first purchases since October.

On the US Federal Reserve meeting next week, Rajan said the central bank also expected not more than a 25-basis-point hike in US interest rates, as signalled by market consensus, adding the RBI was ready for "any eventuality."