MPC composition

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee has six members: the Governor (chair), the Deputy Governor in charge of Monetary Policy, an RBI-nominated official, and three External members appointed by the central government for fixed terms. All six are voting members at every meeting, with the Governor holding a casting vote in case of a tie.

The current MPC tracked by the Hawkometer is Governor Sanjay Malhotra, Deputy Governor Michael Patra, and External members Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal and Jayanth Varma.

Where the committee sits right now

Speaker-by-speaker scores

The RBI MPC’s vote-and-statement pattern is more transparent than at the BoC, with each member publishing their own statement after the decision. That means the Hawkometer reading on RBI Externals is unusually well grounded — the underlying text is detailed and the position-taking is explicit.

• Patra’s speeches and minutes anchor the institutional view. As the Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy, his commentary tends to set the centre of the index.
• Externals provide the dispersion. Goyal and Varma have historically taken visible dovish positions, including dissents. Bhide has moved between sides depending on the inflation backdrop.

Recent speeches and current shifts

Upcoming MPC appearances

Set-piece events that move the RBI Hawkometer:

• Bi-monthly post-meeting press conferences by the Governor.
• Annual Statistics Day Lecture at the RBI.
• Conferences hosted by NIPFP, IGIDR and CAFRAL.
• Parliamentary committee appearances by the Governor.

How this connects to rate decisions

Pair the Hawkometer with the RBI policy stance and rate path and our global rate outlook. For external observers, the RBI Hawkometer is particularly informative because India runs a flexible inflation-targeting regime around a 4% midpoint with a ±2% band — and the language MPC members use about the band’s tolerance is a reliable leading indicator of the next decision.

Limitations specific to the RBI

• Multilingual and idiomatic. RBI officials sometimes speak in Hindi or other Indian languages at domestic events. We currently score the English transcript only.
• The 4% midpoint with a 2-2-6 percent band. The phrase library is calibrated to the RBI’s particular target framework; phrases that read as hawkish at a 2%-target central bank may be neutral at the RBI.
• External member sample. External members give fewer speeches than internal MPC members, so their individual readings are more sensitive to a single appearance.

For the full scoring methodology and phrase library, see the Hawkometer methodology page.