India's central bank raised its key interest rate, the repo, by 50 basis points to 4.90 percent on Wednesday, which was bigger than what economists and markets had expected.
The consensus was for a hike to 4.80 percent.
The previous change in the repo rate was a surprise 40 basis points hike on May 4, which was the first lift since August 2018.
In a live video conference, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikantha Das said the Monetary Policy Committee was unanimous on the latest rate hike.
Das said the bank will continue to be decisive and proactive and remains focused on bringing down inflation to target.
The RBI Chief also said that the MPC is focused on the withdrawal of monetary accommodation supplied during the coronavirus pandemic crisis in 2020.
The central bank retained the gross domestic product growth forecast for the current financial year 2022-23 at 7.2 percent.
The bank said upside risks to inflation still persist and it now sees the inflation for current fiscal year ending March 31, 2023 at 6.7 percent.
"The situation overall is challenging," Das said, adding that the bank is resolute in dealing with it to support the economy and bring inflation to target.
