Monetary policy: Negative interest rates are a matter of concern, says RBI

'The monetary policy is an inflation targeting framework while keeping in mind the objective of growth', said Das

After the MPC’s decision to hike repo rate by 50 basis point (bps) to 5.4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das, Deputy Governors Michael Patra, MK Jain, T Rabi Sankar, and M Rajeshwar Rao spoke to the media. Edited excerpts:

The rate hikes have been sharp and in quick succession. Are you not worried that this will kill demand?

Das: Inflation still remains at 7 per cent, which is unacceptably high. According to our projections, they will remain above 6 per cent for the first three quarters of this year. The fourth quarter projection is 5.8. With this kind of an inflation trajectory,