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    HomeNewsTrendsRBI hikes interest rate on LIC IPO day. Cue the memes

    RBI hikes interest rate on LIC IPO day. Cue the memes

    In a move that will raise borrowing costs for corporates and individuals, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised its key lending rate by 40 basis points

    Moneycontrol News
    May 04, 2022 / 17:14 IST
    RBI-LIC memes took over social media on Wednesday (Image: MyMoney_Magnet/Twitter)

    In a move that will raise borrowing costs for corporates and individuals, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised its key lending rate by 40 basis points, taking the repo rate to 4.4%. While announcing the 40-basis-point hike, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das also raised the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points. The move surprised markets, pushing up bond yields and putting pressure on the equity indices.

    Equity markets fell sharply in late afternoon trade on Wednesday, with the Sensex crashing 1,060.64 points after the Reserve Bank increased the benchmark lending rate to 4.40 per cent in a bid to contain inflation.

    This was the first such unscheduled statement from the RBI governor since the start of the pandemic. What surprised people even further was that it came on the day of LIC’s mega-IPO. The initial public offering (IPO) of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the largest share sale in the history of Indian stock markets, opened today (May 4).

    “The real surprise is not RBI action but it happened on the LIC IPO opening date itself,” wrote one Twitter user.



    “What was the reason for #RBI to surprise the markets in that sudden announcement? We have LIC IPO also on today,” another remarked.

    Related stories


    As with every other trending topic on Twitter, memes were only to be expected and Twitter users did not disappoint. Take a look:








    The 30-share BSE benchmark tumbled 1,060.64 points or 1.86 per cent to 55,915.35 in late afternoon trade. The NSE Nifty also tanked 317.75 points or 1.86 per cent to 16,751.35. The 30-share BSE benchmark tumbled 1,060.64 points or 1.86 per cent to 55,915.35 in late afternoon trade. The NSE Nifty also tanked 317.75 points or 1.86 per cent to 16,751.35.

    On Wednesday, the Reserve Bank of India increased the benchmark lending rate in a bid to contain inflation, which has remained stubbornly above the target zone of 6 per cent for the last three months. The decision follows an unscheduled meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), with all six members unanimously voting for a rate hike while maintaining the accommodative stance.

    (With inputs from PTI)

    Moneycontrol News
    first published: May 4, 2022 05:10 pm

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