RBI keeping Arjuna's eye on inflation, says Governor Shaktikanta Das

Drawing inspiration from Arjuna's prowess in archery during the Swayamvar of Draupadi in the epic Mahabharata, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the central bank is zeroing in on inflation. He also said, "Our constant endeavour is to keep an eye on inflation, which is our primary target."

While addressing the FIBAC 2022 Conference, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor on Wednesday said, "In Mahabharata, the great warrior and archer Arjuna was aiming at the eye of the revolving fish. There was a fish and the fish was revolving and he was looking at it through a pool of water which was underneath. I'm quite certain that he would have certainly assessed the speed at which the fish was revolving, the wind conditions prevailing, the intensity of the ripples in the pool of water below, the noise levels in the kings' court and similar other factors," and added that, "Our constant endeavour is to keep an eye on inflation, which is our primary target."

FIBAC 2022 Conference is jointly organised by FICCI and Indian Banks Association.

Das said, "When international prices of wheat went up, in India despite India being a surplus in the foodgrain, our domestic wheat prices also went up. Crude prices hit USD 130 per barrel. So on February 24, when Ukraine and Russia war started, it completely changed the entire picture."

Talking about curbing inflation, he said, "Because of the inflation-targeting framework, till Covid-19 hit our country or the world, our average CPI (consumer price index) inflation was 3.9 per cent from 2016 to February 2020. Similarly now, when the war started this year in February, in April we announced in our monetary policy the number of measures that were taken."

Talking about the current state of the economy, Shaktikanta Das said, "Now, where do we stand today, the growth momentum has been sustained. Inflation is expected to moderate. Banking and the entire financial sector is stable and resilient, it has withstood multiple shocks. Balance sheets of the banks are today looking very robust. The corporate sector balance sheets are also strong. The MSME sector has also withstood the crisis."

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