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The central bank trimmed the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.25%, even though most economists were betting on a pause. The move follows a record-low retail inflation rate of 0.25% in October, giving the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) the breathing room it needs to lower borrowing costs. And yes, the RBI is still sticking to its "neutral" stance, which basically means: We're keeping our options open.

What makes this more surprising is that India's gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the September quarter were stronger than expected, which usually makes central banks hold ...