The Reserve Bank of India kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 5.50%, pausing after 100 basis points of cuts this year. The six-member Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously for the hold and retained a neutral stance, citing steady domestic demand and headline inflation that slowed to 2.1% in June. Governor Sanjay Malhotra reiterated the central bank’s 6.5% growth projection for the current fiscal year but warned that external headwinds are intensifying. Chief among them is a 25% U.S. tariff on Indian exports due to take effect later this week, alongside U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat of “very substantial” additional duties over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil. Indian officials had expected to cap tariffs at 15% after five rounds of negotiations with Washington; those talks have since collapsed. Economists now estimate the higher levies could shave as much as 40 basis points from India’s GDP growth and dampen investment sentiment, prompting speculation that the RBI may need to resume easing if trade conditions deteriorate. Financial markets offered a muted response to the policy decision. The benchmark 10-year bond yield rose four basis points to 6.37%, the rupee hovered near a record low of 87.73 per dollar and equity indices slipped about 0.2%. Analysts said the central bank is likely to stay in wait-and-see mode until the impact of U.S. trade measures and food-price volatility becomes clearer.