Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has kept key interest rates unchanged since February 2023, citing persistent inflation pressures.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said people are finding current interest rates 'very stressful' and urged banks to make them affordable.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman urged banks to lower lending rates to stimulate business investment and economic growth. She acknowledged concerns about high borrowing costs while emphasizing the need for more affordable credit.

Sitharaman follows trade minister Piyush Goyal, who last week argued for a cut in interest rates, stating that economic growth required further stimulus.

Nirmala Sitharaman says this is one of the requirements if India aspires to become a 'Viksit Bharat', not just an aspiration but a reality

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was speaking at the 11th SBI Banking and Economics Conclave 2024 on on Monday, November 18, 2024.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman emphasizes the need for affordable bank interest rates to boost industries and economic growth.

Exuding confidence about the country’s economic growth, the finance minister said that high-frequency indicators are pointing to strong activity on the ground.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said that banks' interest rates need to be more affordable at a time when the government wants industries to increase their building capacities and that the higher cost of borrowing is “very stressful”.

On inflation, FM Nirmala Sitharaman says a set of three or four perishable commodities is driving the headline inflation, currently, and the rest of it, the core items, are at manageable levels of three or four per cent.