Bank indices inch up after plunging nearly half a percent post RBI's decision to hold repo rate

RBI governor Shaktikanta Das .

The Nifty Bank indices inch up after plunging nearly half a percent on August 8 morning after the Reserve Bank of India left the repo rate unchanged for the ninth straight time at 6.5 percent.

At 11.39 am, Nifty Bank was up 0.17 percent from the previous day at 50,204.30. The Nifty PSU index was at 6,925.20, up 0.13 percent and the Nifty private bank index was 0.14 percent up at 25,032.20.

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The monetary policy committee of the central bank decided to keep the repo rate, the rate at which RBI central lends money to banks, unchanged at 6.5 percent, governor Shaktikanta Das said.

The status quo is the second-longest pause in the last 25 years and reflects a cautious stance in response to rising inflation, particularly volatile food prices.

In addition, Governor Das urged banks to be more innovative to attract deposits. Das said that banks need to focus on mobilisation of household financial savings and service offerings and by leveraging fully on their vast branch network.

RBI also has raised the tax payment limit through the unified payments interface (UPI) to Rs 5 lakh from Rs 1 lakh.