Monetary policy entails measures taken by the Reserve Bank of India to influence aggregate demand in the economy. The monetary policy affects output and prices through its influence on key financial variables such as interest rates, exchange rates, asset prices, credit and monetary aggregates in the future. Monetary policy actions, therefore, are forward looking. The Reserve Bank uses various policy levers, such as repo rate, reverse repo rate, cash reserve ratio, statutory liquidity ratio and bank rate, to influence the amount of money in the market. An increase in any one of these could raise the interest rates.
• How do changes in interest rates affect monetary transmission?
By increasing or decreasing interest rates, thus raising or lowering the cost of holding cash for banks, RBI indicates that banks should increase or decrease rates for their customers. This change affects people's ability to borrow and lend money, thereby affecting overall demand and completing monetary transmission.
• How much time does it take for monetary policy to take effect?
The effect of monetary policy takes place after a lag and is also found to be variable. This depend on the state of the economy, amount of regulation, liberalisation and financial innovation in the economy. Research has shown that in India, monetary policy takes effect after a lag of 8-12 months. Also, experience has shown that tight liquidity conditions lead to faster transmission of monetary policy.
• How has RBI reacted in the recent past?
Inflation has been elevated for over a year and RBI has responded by raising the repo rate, or the rate at which it lends to banks, nine times. It has tried to bring down the aggregate demand. Lower demand acts as a check on rising prices.
Download Tax Saving Mutual Fund Application Forms Invest In Tax Saving Mutual Funds Online Buy Gold Mutual Funds Leave a missed Call on 94 8300 8300 Mutual funds are ideal as long term investment avenues for retail investors. To encourage investments in this avenue, the Government of India offers investors a spate of tax benefits thus ensuring maximum benefit from mutual funds held beyond a year. Sample some of the key benefits and refer to the table for a detailed list of tax rates for different types of schemes · Avail deductions under Sec 80C of the Income Tax Act by investing up to a maximum of Rs. 1 lakh in designated Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS). Such investments have a compulsory lock in period of 3 years. · First time retail investors in equity with a gross total income of up to Rs. 12 lakh can invest up to Rs. 50,000 in specific MF schemes un...
