Jayanth Varma

'I do not see any evidence of excess demand or overheating in the economy,' says Varma

Interview | MPC member Jayanth Varma warns high real interest rates can depress private investment, suppress demand

Varma has been cautioning that keeping interest rates too high for too long can hamper growth

MC Interview | As inflation falls, repo should be cut to prevent real rate from rising too high, says Jayanth Varma

Sacrificing 0.75 percent or 1 percent economic growth will last not for one year, but for two. This makes the growth-inflation tradeoff a lot worse than we expected, says the MPC member

India needs rate cuts to reach potential growth, say MPC members Jayanth Varma, Ashima Goyal

"We are in a catch-up growth phase. Growth has to go up in order to create employment and jobs for young people, for the investment cycle to take off, and so on," Ashima Goyal, one of three external members on the six-member MPC, told Reuters.

MC Interview | MPC should be wary of keeping rate so tight that it prevents revival of private capex: Jayanth Varma

Varma said the economy has been held up by government investment, and the ongoing process of fiscal consolidation is gradually withdrawing that stimulus

Exclusive Interview | Inflation firmly inside the corridor, MPC should be more sensitive to growth now, says Jayanth Varma

The MPC retained its key policy rate, repo, at 6.5 percent in the February round of the monetary policy, signalling that the fight against inflation is not over yet. Varma said falling inflation means that keeping the repo at 6.5 percent is the same as steadily raising real rates which is unwarranted

MC Exclusive Interview | When people disagree with me, that does not mean that they do not take me seriously: MPC member Jayanth Varma

It is not enough that MPC insiders can fathom the coded language in which it chooses to speak. It is imperative that the MPC choose language that intelligent laypersons can interpret. In my view, the MPC has failed this test repeatedly, Varma said.

MPC Minutes: Stance not required at this stage, says MPC Member Jayanth Varma

Additionally, Varma also said that if at all there is a stance, it should be neutral

We should accept 4-5% inflation for several quarters, says MPC's Jayanth Varma

According to Varma, while there are significant risks to the growth outlook, various indicators currently point to the continuation of the growth momentum

Interview | I think there are substantial risks to both the growth and inflation outlook: MPC member Jayanth Varma

In its latest meeting, the MPC has kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent and said future actions will depend on incoming data.

MPC Minutes: Jayanth Varma continues to express reservations on stance

This isn't the first time Varma is differing from the majority opinion of the panel on the policy stance. In the last policy too, Varma had said that the stance has become increasingly disconnected from the reality

Is MPC member Jayanth Varma just a contrarian or ahead of the curve?

Given his high ratio of dissent, market participants seem to perceive Varma as a constant contrarian voice. Varma’s dissent has not been for the sake of sounding contrary. In fact, many times, he has been able to flag upcoming challenges in his dissenting voice.

Interview: One quarter of good data doesn’t mean growth struggle is over, says MPC’s Jayanth Varma

Varma, one of the three external members on the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, also said that real rates have to stay elevated until inflation is in the vicinity of 4 percent.

Interview: MPC's Jayanth Varma hopeful rate hikes thus far will be enough

Varma, one of the three external members on the RBI's Monetary Policy Committee, also said that the policy stance is not only unclear but "bereft of substantive content"

MPC Minutes: War against inflation not yet won, premature to declare end to tightening cycle, says Jayanth Varma

The MPC chose to keep the rates unchanged in the meeting but said it would act if the situation warranted so.

No justification for $95 oil price assumed in RBI's CPI forecast, says MPC's Jayanth Varma

The Reserve Bank of India's inflation forecast for 2023-24 assumes $95 per barrel as the price of India’s crude oil basket, which many economists think is too high

Jayanth Varma Exclusive Interview | Dissent is healthy; I approach MPC deliberations with a great deal of humility

India’s central bank increased the repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent earlier in February to fight persistent higher inflation. This was the sixth straight hike in 10 months.

MPC members hint at rate cuts in 2023 as global growth concerns mount

Rapid tightening of monetary policy across the world to fight inflation is leading to mounting concerns about growth. Central banks – including the RBI – could perform a quick U-turn and cut rates next year

Interview | MPC in agreement about bringing inflation quickly down to 5%: Jayanth Varma

According to Varma, the MPC can be 'relaxed' in lowering inflation to 4 percent from 5 percent if growth is in trouble

Excessive RBI hikes a risk to growth, jobs: Jayanth Varma

“What I am worried about is sub-par growth after two lost years,” Jayanth Rama Varma, a member of the Reserve Bank of India’s rate panel, said in an email interview, referring to the time lost to the pandemic.

Policy rate likely to peak by January-March quarter as MPC shifts focus to growth, say economists

Once inflation begins to moderate by FY24, economists expect the MPC to prioritise growth and assess the effects of policy transmission.

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Repo rate hikes warranted to combat high inflation risks, MPC minutes show

The MPC had raised the repo rate by 50 basis points at its September meeting amid rising price pressures. The MPC has raised the repo rate by 190 bps since May

Interview | Must lower inflation to 4% as quickly as possible: MPC’s Jayanth Varma

According to Varma, the Monetary Policy Committee should start discussing the timeframe in which inflation would be lowered to the medium-term target of 4 percent

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