It was the eighth rate cut in the past year, extending the bank’s divergence from the Federal Reserve, which has held rates steady since the end of last year.

India's central bank cut interest rates more than expected on Friday, citing muted inflation and a need to kickstart economic growth as the impact of US tariffs weighed on the country's outlook. "This changed growth inflation dynamics calls for not only continuing with the policy easing,

The Reserve Bank of India’s six-member monetary policy committee, headed by Governor Sanjay Malhotra, voted five to one to lower the benchmark repurchase rate by 50 basis points to 5.5%.