NEW DELHI – India’s central bank on Friday cut its key interest rate to 4% to revive the economy severely hit the coronavirus outbreak and a two-month lockdown.
Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das also said India's gross domestic product in financial 2020-21 was expected to have negative growth.
The bank held a monetary policy committee meeting and discussed stops to cope with the disruptions to the economy. The bank already had reduced the interest rate to 4.4% from 5.15% in March to ease financing troubles caused by the coronavirus outbreak.
The 4% interest rate announced on Friday will the lowest benchmark rate the RBI charges on lending to commercial banks, its so-called “repo rate,” since March 2010.