RBI has no record of MPC meet on inflation target miss: Report

The meeting held on November 3 was important as the RBI could not meet its mandate to keep inflation within the flexible target

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has no record of the monetary policy committee meeting held on November 3 last year to discuss its failure to meet the inflation target, the central bank told the Mint in a reply to a query under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

In its reply on January 25, the RBI’s central public information officer (CPIO) said the “information sought is not available". On March 17, executive director Radha Shyam Ratho responded to the same query, saying "no minutes are available in respect of the MPC meeting held on 3 November 2022."

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Ratho added that if a piece of information sought under the RTI 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.

The meeting, chaired by governor Shaktikanta Das and held on November 3, was important as the RBI could not meet its mandate to keep inflation within the flexible target of 2-6 per cent for nine consecutive months between January and September last year.

The RBI Act states that 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.

The RBI had in a press release on November 3 said that the MPC held a meeting earlier that day to draft the report to be sent to the government under the provisions of Section 45ZN of the RBI Act.

The RBI earlier reportedly said that revealing remedial measures could lead to market disruptions, and the government cited the lack of any provision under the RBI Act for making it public.