The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut its key interest rate for the first time in nearly five years on Friday, as it seeks to boost the sluggish economy and sees inflation easing towards its 4% target.

(Reuters) -The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced its key repo rate on Friday for the first time since May 2020, aiming to provide stimulus to the sluggish economy, which is projected to grow at its slowest pace in four years during the current fiscal year.

The Reserve Bank of India has cut its key interest rate for the first time in nearly five years, as cooling inflation has offered room to stimulate the slowing economy. The central bank forecast real GDP growth for next fiscal year at 6.

India’s finance minister gave middle class consumers 1 trillion rupees ($11.5 billion) in tax relief in her budget Saturday, seeking to shore up a slowing economy as global risks worsen.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Sanjay Malhotra has announced the Monetary Policy Committee has cut the benchmark repo rate by 26 basis points.

After a hiatus of over 5 years, Sanjay Malhotra, the newly appointed RBI governor presiding  over the first monetary policy under his stewardship has gone ahead to complement the fiscal policy to resuscitate the economy with higher growth by cutting the repo rate by 25 bps to 6.

India’s new central bank governor cut interest rates for the first time in almost five years on Friday to help spur a slowing economy as global risks intensify.