The Reserve Bank of India monetary policy committee (MPC) has raised policy repo rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 percent with immediate effect. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on December 7 announced that five out of six members of the MPC opted to go for a hike in the rate during the meeting. Here's what RBI Governor announced at MPC briefing.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, who presents the monetary policy statement every two months, is known to quote prominent personalities or offer a punchline to convey his message on the state of the economy. The six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) headed by Das raised the key lending rate or the repo rate by 35 basis points to 6.25 per cent. During his speech, Das said, “We will keep an Arjuna’s eye on inflation and we will be ready to act. Our actions will be nimble.”
This is not the first time he has delivered a memorable line during the monetary policy statement presentation.
Here are four memorable quotes by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das:
Mahatama Gandhi
In April this year, concluding his monetary policy statement which lasted nearly an hour, Das quoted Mahatma Gandhi, saying “It is faith that steers us through stormy seas, faith that moves mountains and faith that jumps across the ocean.”
In February this year, Das quoted music legend Lata Mangeshkar as he expressed confidence in economic stability and growth for India during the coronavirus pandemic.
“If the last two years of living with the virus have taught us anything, it is to remain humble but grounded in self-belief, never losing self-confidence and optimism. As the great late Lata Mangeshkar, whom we lost recently, sang in her immortal voice, ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai…’,” he said, quoting Mangeshkar’s song from the 1965 film, “Guide”.
"Together with the spirit behind the next line of this beautiful song, she has conveyed an eternal message of optimism. We in the Reserve Bank have to remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguard trust and confidence in the domestic financial system as we rebuild the foundations of strong and sustainable growth."
In April 2021, Das quoted Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. to project hope and as he sought to instill confidence among people amid the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic.
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope,” Das said, quoting Nobel laureate and leader of the American civil rights movement Martin Luther King Jr.
In the same speech, Das also quoted Mahatma Gandhi and called on people to resiliently face the pandemic.
“If patience is worth anything, it must endure to the end of time. And a living faith will last in the midst of the blackest storm,” Das said, quoting Gandhi.
In October 2020, Shaktikanta Das quoted former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam to talk about staying optimistic about the economu during the pandemic “Today, there is a turn in the wind, which suggests that it is not imprudent to dream of a brighter tomorrow even in the bleakest of times. As Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, our visionary former President said: ‘You have to dream before your dreams can come true…A dream is not that which you see while sleeping, it is something that does not let you sleep.’”