What It Means
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the six-member RBI panel that decides India's repo rate. The RBI Governor doesn't set the rate alone; the decision comes from a majority vote among six people, and the outcome is announced by the Governor at a scheduled briefing, typically at 10 AM on the final day of a three-day meeting.
How It Works
The MPC has three RBI-side members (the Governor as chairperson, a Deputy Governor in charge of monetary policy, and one officer nominated by RBI's central board) and three external members appointed by the Central Government for four-year terms. Each member gets one vote. A straightforward majority settles the decision, so the Governor can be outvoted; if the vote ties, the Governor casts the deciding vote. The committee meets six times a year, roughly once every two months, and each meeting spans three days before the decision is read out.
Warning
A common assumption is that the RBI Governor personally sets the interest rate. The rate comes from a majority vote of the full six-member committee, and the Governor's casting vote only comes into play in the rare event of a tie.