No record of MPC meet on inflation target miss: RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has no record of what transpired at the crucial monetary policy committee meeting on 3 November that discussed its failure to meet the inflation target, the central bank said in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query.

- Shayan Ghosh

 

Responding to Mint’s RTI request for a copy of the minutes of the meeting, RBI’s central public information officer (CPIO) replied on 25 January that the “information sought is not available". Then on 17 March, responding to an appeal on the same query, executive director Radha Shyam Ratho said that “no minutes are available in respect of the MPC meeting held on 3 November 2022."

“When the information sought is not available in the records available with the CPIO, the appellate authority, at the appellate stage, cannot direct the CPIO to procure or create the information sought and provide to the appellant," Ratho said.

The meeting in November was prompted by RBI’s failure to meet its mandate to keep inflation within the flexible target of 2-6% for nine consecutive months between January and September last year.

Under the inflation targeting framework of the RBI Act, the central bank has to explain its failure to the government, suggest remedial actions, and provide an estimate of the period within which it will meet the target.