India's central bank took its first steps yesterday to unwind the ultra-loose monetary policy adopted during the global financial crisis, a further sign of the strengthening recovery across regional economies.
The Reserve Bank of India announced that local banks would have to boost their reserves, partly through the purchase of government bonds, in an effort to withdraw liquidity from the system and ward off the renewed inflation threat.
The move, which triggered a sell-off on the Bombay Stock Exchange, prepares the ground for an interest rate rise early next year as Asia's third biggest economy shows increasing signs of shrugging off the downturn.