Jaitley denies putting pressure on RBI to cut rates

Mumbai

INDIA'S finance minister denied on Tuesday that he was pressuring the central bank into cutting interest rates, after his comment that the high cost of capital was stifling investment sent markets into a tizzy.

Arun Jaitley, in a speech in Delhi on Monday, said that "costly capital" was one of the factors impacting manufacturers. Analysts said that his remarks were the most public attempt yet by the government to press the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor into easing rates.

But Mr Jaitley denied on Tuesday that his remarks were intended to pressure Raghuram Rajan, and had instead been meant to discuss the challenges facing the manufact…