India's central bank on Friday lowered its key rates by a quarter point for the third time this year to address the accentuated risks to growth.
The Reserve Bank of India led by Governor Duvvuri Subbarao, cut its repo rate to 7.25 percent from 7.50 percent and adjusted the reverse repo rate to 6.25 percent from 6.50 percent.
The repo rate is the rate at which the central bank lends to banks and the reverse repo rate is the rate at which it accepts deposits from banks. The latest move was in line with economists' expectations.
The central bank said the stance of monetary policy is intended to address risks to growth, guard against the risks of inflation pressures re-emerging and to appropriately manage liquidity.
The RBI maintained its cash reserve ratio, or CRR, at 4.00 percent. The bank last slashed the key rates and CRR by 25 basis points in January.
The bank projects baseline GDP growth for 2013-14 at 5.7 percent. At the same time, wholesale price inflation is expected to be range-bound around 5.5 percent during 2013-14. The RBI intends to contain inflation at around 5 percent in the short-term.
"Overall, the balance of risks stemming from the Reserve Bank's assessment of the growth-inflation dynamic yields little space for further monetary easing," it said.
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