It was a googly that caught markets off guard. After the sharp slide in the rupee, speculation had mounted that the central bank was nearing the end of its rate-easing cycle. But the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had other ideas, voting unanimously on Friday to cut the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%. The MPC also left the door open for further easing, while announcing measures to inject up to Rs 1.45 lakh crore of liquidity into the banking system. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra described the current phase as a “Goldilocks period” for the economy, with inflation at a benign 2.2% and growth at 8% in the first half of FY26.