{
  "id": 12550601,
  "title": "RBI raises repo rate by 25 points in first hike in four years, loan EMIs may rise",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/rbi-raises-repo-rate-by-25-points-in-first-hike-in-four-years-loan",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-07T04:36:35.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/rbi-raises-repo-rate-by-25-points-first-hike-in-nearly-four-years-101791344103352.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) increased its benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5% on Wednesday, its first hike in nearly four years, amid growing inflation despite robust economic growth. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to raise the rate and shifted its stance to \"calibrated tightening\" from \"neutral,\" showing a greater emphasis on tackling inflation. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra stated that the global context, influenced by geopolitical events, remains challenging, but India's economy has shown strong and broad-based momentum. He also highlighted concerns over inflation, predicting headline CPI inflation to average around 5.8% over the next three quarters and core inflation to be 4.4% for the current financial year. The MPC's three-day meeting, running from October 5 to 7, followed a pause in the last rate hike in February 2023, with the central bank having held the rate unchanged at 5.25% through 2023-24. Factors such as geopolitical tensions, rising international commodity prices, and tightening global financial conditions were cited as potential risks to India's growth outlook. The Monetary Policy Committee projected real GDP growth for the year at 7.1%, with quarterly growth rates of 7.2%, 6.9, and 6.8% for Q2, Q3, and Q4, respectively. Despite global challenges, India's real GDP growth in the first quarter was 7.8%, driven by resilient private consumption and strong investment activity.",
  "summary": "The MPC's three-day meeting, being held from October 5 to 7, comes after it kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent in August.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "RBI raises repo rate to 5.5%, first hike since 2023",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/rbi-raises-repo-rate-to-5-5-first-hike-since-2023",
        "published": "2026-10-07T04:41:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Gulf News",
        "title": "India’s RBI ends easing cycle with first rate hike since 2023",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/indias-rbi-ends-easing-cycle-with-first-rate-hike-since-2023",
        "published": "2026-10-07T05:15:31.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindu BusinessLine",
        "title": "HDFC Bank shares in focus after RBI repo rate hike, loan growth at 16%",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/hdfc-bank-shares-in-focus-after-rbi-repo-rate-hike-loan-growth-at-16",
        "published": "2026-10-07T05:34:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}