RBI Monetary Policy Committee Meetings Calendar FY 2020-21: Announced! All details here

In a major development, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday announced the calendar of the meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) for the current financial year, and decision of the first meet will be announced on June 5. The RBI governor-headed committee will meet for five times during the financial year 2020-21.

RBI MPC FULL CALENDAR

As per the schedule announced by the RBI, the next Monetary Policy Committee meeting will take place during June 3 to 5. The MPC decision is announced on the last day of the meeting. The other meetings will take place on August 4 to 6, 2020; September 29-30 and October 1, 2020; December 2 to 4, 2020; and February 3 to 5, 2021.

According to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, the central bank is required to organise at least four meetings of the MPC in a year.

The previous MPC meeting was advanced in view of the COVID-19 outbreak to March 24, 26 and 27 from originally scheduled for March 31, April 1 and 3. The MPC in the previous meeting decided to sharply cut the repo rate by 75 basis points as the coronavirus outbreak led to the lockdown in the country adversely affecting economic activities.

The six-member MPC has met for 22 times. The first meeting was held in October 2016.

Also, Reserve Bank on Monday enhanced the Ways and Means Advances (WMA) limit to Rs 2 lakh crore for the remaining part of the first half of 2020-21. Accordingly, the limit has been enhanced for the period commencing from April till September, 2020.

"To tide over the situation arising from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been decided, in consultation with the Government of India, that the limit for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the remaining part of first half of the financial year 2020-21 will be revised to Rs 2,00,000 crore," the RBI said.

The apex bank RBI provides WMA to the central and state governments to help them to tide over temporary mismatches in the cash flow of their receipts and payments. The move is expected to provide additional fiscal space for the Centre to invest in key social and infra sectors.