The minutes of the Reserve Bank of India's October meeting show policymakers agreed inflation had worsened enough to warrant higher rates but differed on how much more tightening is needed. Governor Sanjay Malhotra proposed shifting the stance from neutral to “calibrated tightening” and keeping future moves data-dependent, signalling rate cuts are off the table in the near term. Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta and Executive Director Indranil Bhattacharyya argued for staying ahead of inflation, while external members Nagesh Kumar and Ram Singh opposed the shift. The committee raised the benchmark rate to 5.5% this month, its first hike in nearly four years, as September consumer inflation reached a near two-year high close to the top of the 2%-6% tolerance band. Economists expect 2-3 more rate rises, while the rupee, after the RBI's most aggressive defense in over a decade, closed at 94.4460 after an eighth straight session of gains.
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