The Reserve Bank of India on Thursday decided to keep policy rate unchanged for third time in a row as it maintains heightened vigil on inflation.

The rate increase cycle was paused in April after six consecutive rate hikes aggregating to 250 basis points since May 2022.

Announcing the bi-monthly monetary policy, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) unanimously decided to keep the rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

He said the MPC will remain watchful of the inflation and remains resolute to its commitment to align inflation to the targeted level.

While keeping the interest rate intact, Das said headline inflation still remains above RBI's target of 4 per cent.

The MPC meeting took place against the backdrop of consumer price-based (CPI) inflation on some food items like tomato, wheat and rice that have witnessed surge in price in the last few weeks.

The government has mandated RBI to ensure CPI inflation at 4 per cent with a margin of 2 per cent on either side.