The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) further reduced the key interest rate or the repo rate by 40 bps on Friday, after a yet another out-of-turn Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting as the COVID-19 pandemic induced lockdown continues, albeit with calibrated relaxations. The central bank also extended the loan repayment moratorium for another three months till August 31. The six-member MPC announcement has reduced the repo rate to 4% with five members of the panel voting for the steep cut while one member, Chetan Ghate, voted for a 25 bps cut. The MPC also decided to continue with the accommodative stance ‘as long as it is necessary to revive growth and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the economy’, while ensuring that inflation remains within the target, RBI said.