RBI hikes interest rate by 50 bps to tame inflation

Mumbai (PTI): Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised the interest rate by 50 basis points to a two-year high of 4.9 per cent as it doubled down to tame inflation that has surged in the last couple of months.

The rate hike comes on the back of a 40 bps increase effected by RBI at an unscheduled meeting on May 4.

All the six members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, unanimously voted for the latest rate hike.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) based inflation, which RBI factors in while arriving at its monetary policy, galloped for the seventh straight month to touch an 8-year high of 7.79 per cent in April.