Rift within India's central bank panel widens as views differ

Mumbai

INDIA'S monetary policymakers disagreed sharply over whether the economy needed another dose of stimulus, underlining their dilemma as growth slowed with inflation forecast to accelerate.

While five on the six-member monetary policy committee (MPC) voted to keep the key policy rate unchanged this month, one member said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) must be ready to tighten while another said August's 25 basis point cut was too little and too late. Governor Urjit Patel, his deputy Viral Acharya and Pami Dua said recent indicators have been volatile and more data is needed to ascertain the magnitude of risks, according to minutes of the Oct 3-4 meeting published Wednesday.