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Indian Express
a day ago
- Business
- Indian Express
RBI Policy: Why MPC is likely to cut repo rate for third consecutive time
The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is expected to cut the repo rate – the key policy rate – by 25 basis points (bps) in the policy meeting scheduled from June 4 to 6, to support growth as inflation continues to remain below the 4 per cent target. This would be the third consecutive reduction in the repo rate since February 2025. Economists also believe that the RBI may maintain the 'accommodative' monetary policy stance. With benign inflation, there has been a consensus among economists that the six-member MPC will cut the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.75 per cent in the upcoming meeting. One basis point (bps) is one-hundredth of a percentage point. 'We expect RBI to cut policy rates by 25 bps in June. The space to cut policy rates is derived from sharp deceleration in inflation. Meanwhile, given the uncertainty on demand conditions both domestic and external, growth requires money policy support,' said IDFC First Bank Chief Economist, Gaura Sengupta. Headline inflation, as measured by year-on-year changes in the all-India consumer price index (CPI), moderated to 3.2 per cent in April, the lowest since July 2019, from 3.3 per cent in March. The easing in CPI has been driven by the sustained fall in food prices. Economists said that with inflation remaining below the 4 per cent target in the last three months (February, March and April), and a sharp fall in food inflation, CPI is likely to durably align with the 4 per cent target over a 12-month period. Under the flexible inflation targeting (FIT) framework, the RBI has been mandated by the government to maintain CPI at 4 per cent with a band of +/-2 per cent. 'The benign inflation outlook and moderate growth warrant monetary policy to be growth supportive, while remaining watchful about the rapidly evolving global macroeconomic conditions,' the RBI said in the annual report for 2024-25. The MPC is likely to retain the monetary policy stance as 'accommodative', analysts said. In the April policy, the rate-setting panel had changed the stance from neutral to accommodative. According to economists, the RBI is likely to revise its projections on real gross domestic product (GDP) and inflation for FY26. 'The commentary on both growth and inflation will be important as there are expectations of revisions in their forecasts for both the parameters. It is also expected that the RBI will detail its analysis on how the global environment would be affecting the Indian economy considering that the tariff reprieve provided by the USA would end in July,' said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. As per the RBI's estimate, CPI inflation for FY26 is expected to be at 4 per cent. The easing of supply chain pressures, softening of global commodity prices and higher agricultural production on the back of a likely above-normal south-west monsoon augur well for the inflation outlook in FY26, the RBI's annual report said. 'Any potential downward revision in FY26 CPI inflation will be closely watched, as it will provide an indication of the depth of the rate cutting cycle,' said IDFC First Bank's Sengupta. The real GDP growth for FY26 is projected at 6.5 per cent. In the quarter ended January-March 2025, the domestic economy picked up pace and grew at a four-quarter high of 7.4 per cent. For the financial year 2024-25, the growth rate stood at 6.5 per cent, which was a four-year low. 'The Indian economy is poised to sustain its position as the fastest growing major economy during 2025-26, supported by pickup in private consumption, healthy balance sheets of banks and corporates, easing financial conditions and the government's continued thrust on capital expenditure,' the RBI's annual report said. If the repo rate is reduced by 25 bps, all external benchmark lending rates (EBLR) linked to it will decline by a similar margin. It would be a relief for borrowers as their equated monthly instalments (EMIs) on home and personal loans will drop by 25 bps. Following a 50 bps cut in the repo rate since February 2025, most banks have reduced their repo-linked lending rates by the same magnitude. Lenders have also lowered their marginal cost of funds-based lending rate (MCLR). Following the likely repo rate cut in the June policy, the RBI is likely to go for a total reduction of 50 bps in the current financial year, experts said. 'Two more cuts over the subsequent two policy reviews are expected, taking the repo rate to 5.25 per cent by the end of the cycle,' said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA Ltd.
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
Cowboy hats, leather boots: At Norway Chess games, grandmasters wander out of comfort zone of 64 squares on rest day
About 50 people burst into applause as a lasso from world champion Gukesh almost lands on the neck of a wooden bull that he's supposed to rein in. Someone informs Ju Wenjun, the women's world champion and his partner in the challenge, that so far Gukesh has come the closest to throwing the lasso around the neck of the wooden bull. 'That's good, but do we get any points?' the Chinese grand master wants to know. Welcome to the Norway Chess Games, an annual rite that happens every year on the first rest day of the tournament. It's an occasion for players to let their hair down while still competing with each other in unique challenges. Or, in this case, wear their cowboy hats, sport Texas-style leather boots and giddy up for little side quests while forgetting the tension of chess just for a few hours. The idea of the event has been to take the players out of their 64-squared comfort zones. In past editions of Norway Chess, players like five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand have had to milk cows, cook halibut with hollandaise sauce, and drive tractors. Other contests have included fencing, archery, playing football while being in a zorb ball, making designs for sweaters. After missing the event last year, this year's Norway Chess Games takes the contests to another level by incorporating multiple tasks. Barring Sara Khadem, who was under the weather, all the players competing in the tournament gathered at Westernbyen, a cowboy ranch of sorts in Algard on Friday. Carlsen competes with his wife Ella since Khadem has dropped out. Gukesh is paired with Wenjun, Arjun Erigaisi and Koneru Humpy join hands in an all-India team while Vaishali is partnered with Fabiano Caruana. The Carlsens win the event, finishing just ahead of Hikaru Nakamura and Anna Muzychuk. The highlight of the day is the Carlsen couple casually roasting each other while also egging each other on in events like lasso throwing. Each team of two had to go around the facility competing in various tasks which earned them points: there is rifle shooting, axe throwing, lasso throwing, horseshoe pitching and quiz questions. And to top it all off, there's also a challenge called 'posing aesthetically with a pony', which requires players to get on top of the horse to gain bonus points. A few adventurous ones do this, like Ella, Arjun and Humpy. Gukesh and Wenjun excuse themselves after the Chinese almost pulls a muscle while trying to mount the horse the first time. Humpy is among the best at rifle shooting, hitting one in the 10 ring and then proudly taking the target home as a keepsake. 'I wish my daughter was here. She would have really enjoyed this,' she says with a grin. At the other end, Wei Yi, who is partnered with compatriot Lei Tingjie, nails a horseshoe pitch. Past editions of the Norway Chess games have led to some hilarious tales that will go down in chess folklore. There was the time when Dutch GM Anish Giri tried to warm up for an event by running laps around an athletics track. But by the time he finished his warm up laps, he was so out of breath that he could not compete. But the most famous tale at the event is when former world champion Ding Liren joined hands with Anand to compete in the cooking contest and win, despite having a fractured hip. The story goes that Ding had gone cycling on the rest day in the morning and had crashed, leading to a hip injury. But he thought he could walk it off, so despite being in severe pain, he had shown up for the cooking contest to partner Anand. He spent the whole contest in a chair, unable to stand up, but ended up chopping veggies for Anand. Recently in an event organised by Norway Chess in Mumbai, Anand had called winning that cooking contest as his favourite memory from the event. 'Ding couldn't even move. He could not get out of the chair. He could just cut the vegetables. He cut them so accurately, slicing them in perfect cubes. We were given halibut and we were supposed to prepare it with hollandaise sauce,' Anand recently recollected. Anand recalled that one of the reasons he loved that win was because other competitors like Levon Aronian and Maxime Vachier Lagrave had spent time talking up their cooking abilities. Levon bragged in great detail about how he had learnt cooking from his great grandmother. He said he had amazing recipes for Thai dishes. Maxime, meanwhile, just said that he was French so he was a great hand at cooking. Anand admits to making one blunder at the event: he put the fish into the oven and pressed a button. He thought the oven was on, but realised five minutes later it wasn't. 'I lost some time there. But my hollandaise sauce was apparently perfect,' Anand said before pointing out that his wife had tasted it and given it her seal of approval. 'But I suffered when I had to milk a cow one year. I won the cooking show but the cow milking did not work out well,' Anand had recently admitted on the Norway Chess broadcast where Gukesh spoke about his experience in 2023 when players were asked to design a sweater pattern and then knit it. He was then asked if he was ready to compete at whatever the organisers had in store for him on Friday. When asked if he would like dancing, he said he would do okay with that. 'As long as there is no cooking and there is some sport I should do okay,' he grinned. (The writer is in Stavanger at the invitation of Norway Chess) Amit Kamath is Assistant Editor at The Indian Express and is based in Mumbai. ... Read More
India Today
4 days ago
- Climate
- India Today
List of dry days in India in the month of June 2025
Many people like to spend weekends or special occasions sipping their favourite drink, but what happens when you arrive at your favourite bar or wine store only to discover that it's closed? This is what occurs on dry days are special days on which the government prohibits the sale of alcohol. These prohibitions can be because of religious festivals, national holidays, election days, or other significant events. Liquor stores, pubs, and even restaurants cannot sell or serve alcohol on these if you have a party or a peaceful drink-at-home planned in June 2025, it's advisable to look up the dry day calendar beforehand. The following is an all-India state-wise list of all dry days in India in June 2025 so that you are Days in June 2025 (India-Wide List) Here are the likely dry days in June 2025, based on past government notifications and major festivals. The final list may vary slightly by Day Occasion Likely States AffectedJune 10, Tuesday, Martyrdom Day of Guru Arjan Dev Punjab, Delhi, HaryanaJune 21, Saturday, Sant Kabir Jayanti Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, BiharJune 28, Saturday, Eid al-Adha (Bakrid)* All states (subject to moon sighting)*Please note: The date of Eid al-Adha may change based on the lunar of now, June 10, June 21, and June 28 are the key dry days to remember. But stay updated with your local government's announcements, especially near major festivals or elections.
Hindustan Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Classical Magnus Carlsen beats Gukesh in a dramatic endgame
Stavanger, Norway: The disappointment on the face of D Gukesh was apparent as he rushed out of the hall of a commercial bank in downtown Stavanger that plays host to the Norway Chess tournament. Moments later Magnus Carlsen burst through the same door. Stopping by for a quick chat with Norwegian channel TV2, he afforded a smile and spoke in Norwegian of feeling 'a bit random' about the eventual outcome. Which was that Carlsen had beaten Gukesh in the opening round of the Norway Chess on Monday after a stunning endgame. Their first meeting in classical chess since the 18-year-old Indian became the world champion last December attracted most eyeballs at the venue. They both showed that they wanted to fight. In the end, though, Carlsen showed why he's the world No.1, a five-time world champion and, by Gukesh's own admission after the world championship, the world's best player. The game was much in the balance for a large part, until move 46 brought along a shake-up. With the clock ticking, Gukesh delivered a check with his queen (Qh6) instead of his rook. Carlsen sensed an opening and broke in clinically to attack Gukesh's king, forcing the Indian to offer the resigning handshake soon after. 'I don't know if you should call it old school, or kind of more new school, because it was like very little theory. I was by no means better. We both wanted to fight,' Carlsen told Take Take Take. 'Eventually, I wasn't too happy to get into the endgame, because there is a little bit of an imbalance there. I think he did great for a while, but then we got into a position where anything can happen.' The loss extends the reigning world champion's hunt for a classical win against the world No.1, and an off-colour patch of form since the spark of becoming the world champion. However, the double round-robin format of this tournament featuring a rich six-man field means that Gukesh will have another crack at Carlsen with white pieces on June 1. Arjun wins Armageddon, Humpy beats Vaishali Arjun Erigaisi, the second Indian man in fray, played out a draw with China's Wei Yi in black pieces before the Indian won the Armageddon game. In the women's tournament that featured an all-India opening round clash, Koneru Humpy defeated Vaishali Rameshbabu as the only winner in classical on the day.
Mint
22-05-2025
- Business
- Mint
Standard cooking oil packs mooted to cut shifty traders to size
New Delhi: The government is planning to reinstate standard pack sizes for edible oil, two people said, after a spell of flexible norms saw traders short-changing customers. Traders exploited the relaxed norms introduced in 2022 through amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, which allowed flexible packaging. As a result, random sizes such as 800 gm, 810 gm, and 850 gm are being sold in the market as 1 kg packs, allowing sellers to charge full 1 kg prices for lower quantities. These practice has been flagged as unfair and deceptive, undermining consumer trust. In response, the government now plans to bring back uniform pack sizes such as 5 kg, 2 kg, 1 kg, 500 grams, and 200 grams for cooking oil to prevent pricing manipulation. This comes in the backdrop of India's cooking oil consumption increasing from 24.6 million tonnes (mt) in 2020–21 to 25.8 mt in 2021–22, and 28.9 mt in 2022–23. Also read | Adani Wilmar to raise cooking oil prices by 20% following import duty hike 'We are reviewing the complaints regarding unfair trade practices related to disparities between the price and the actual weight of edible oil packs. It's a bit tricky for consumers to calculate the price of a pack weighing 800 grams, but it's much easier for the same consumer to understand the cost of a standard 2 kg or 500 gm pack," the first person said. As per the consumer affairs ministry data, the all-India daily weighted average retail price of groundnut oil stood at ₹188.82 per kg on 20 May, nearly unchanged from ₹188.76 per kg recorded a year ago. Mustard oil, however, saw a sharp rise, reaching ₹170.66 per kg compared with ₹135.50 per kg a year earlier. Soya oil was priced at ₹147.04 per kg, up from ₹123.61 per kg last year, while sunflower oil rose to ₹160.77 per kg from ₹123.17 per kg. Palm oil, one of the most widely used cooking oils, climbed to ₹135.04 per kg from ₹101 per kg. Vanaspati also saw a price increase, reaching ₹154.71 per kg compared to ₹126.40 per kg a year ago. Read this | BPCL in talks with Sulzer to make aviation fuel from used cooking oil 'The government is reviewing the packaging norms, and after stakeholder consultations, the old standards are likely to be reinstated to ensure better transparency and promote fair trade practices," the second person said. This change follows mounting confusion among consumers, the person said, adding that all stakeholders have been asked to submit their recommendations on this. The Indian edible oil market, valued at $4.39 billion in 2024, is projected to reach $6.49 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual rate of 6.79%, according to TechSci Research. Industry welcomed the move, calling it essential for ensuring consistency in retail pricing and compliance with the Legal Metrology Act. 'Standardized packaging ensures that price comparisons are simple, transparent, and fair. It creates a level playing field for both consumers and producers, encouraging trust and long-term brand value," said Sudhakar Desai, president, Indian Vegetable Oil Producers' Association (IVPA). And read | Decoding the dilemma behind escalating cooking oil imports When the packaging rules were amended in 2021, the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Amendment Rules mandated the display of the Unit Sale Price (USP) on all packaged goods to help consumers compare prices more easily. Building on that, the 2022 amendment went a step further by removing Schedule II, which had previously required certain essential commodities—like edible oils—to be sold only in standard quantities. This shift gave manufacturers the freedom to choose pack sizes as per their convenience, leading to a proliferation of non-standard packs in the market.
