New Delhi, Aug. 2 -- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is expected to announce a 25 basis points (bps) repo rate cut in the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled from August 5 to 7, according to a report by the State Bank of India (SBI).

The report said a frontloaded rate cut in August could bring an "early Diwali" by boosting credit growth, especially as the festive season in FY26 is also frontloaded. It added that past data show a clear trend, any repo rate cut ahead of Diwali results in higher credit growth during the festive period.

It stated, "We expect RBI to continue frontloading with a 25 bps cut in August policy."

Citing an example, the report noted that a 25 bps repo rate cut in August 2017 led to an increm...