The Reserve Bank of India on Friday hiked the limits for contactless card payments from ₹2,000 to ₹5,000. This will be effective from 1 January 2021 and will be at the discretion of the user. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das made the announcement while putting forth the decisions taken by RBI's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
Das also added that the transfer of funds through Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) will be made available round-the-clock in the next few days. "RTGS system to be made 24X7 in next few days," Shaktikanta Das said while announcing the decisions taken by the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
Reserve Bank of India on Friday decided to leave benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4 per cent but maintained an accommodative stance, implying more rate cuts in the future if need arises to support the economy hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The benchmark repurchase (repo) rate has been left unchanged at 4 per cent, Governor Shaktikanta Das said.
The 26th meeting of the rate-setting MPC with three external members -- Ashima Goyal, Jayanth R Varma and Shashanka Bhide -- began on December 2. This is the second meeting of these members who are appointed for a term of four years.
The government moved the interest rate-setting role from the RBI Governor to the six-member MPC in 2016. Half of the panel, headed by the Governor, is made up of external independent members.
MPC has been given the mandate to maintain annual inflation at 4 per cent until March 31, 2021, with an upper tolerance of 6 per cent and a lower tolerance of 2 per cent.