In a significant day across various sectors, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das announced the monetary policy set on Friday morning, amid expectations of a status quo on the benchmark interest rates. The Reserve Bank of India has held the key interest rate (repo) at 6.5 percent since February 2023. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi appeared before a special court in Bengaluru in connection with a defamation case filed by the Karnataka BJP for allegedly defamatory advertisements in newspapers ahead of last year’s assembly polls. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) MPs are expected to meet on Friday to elect Narendra Modi as their leader, facilitating his inauguration for a third term as Prime Minister. Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is set to visit India on Friday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as India’s prime minister for a third consecutive term. The chief minister of Odisha’s maiden government of the BJP is likely to be selected during its Parliamentary Party meeting in New Delhi on Friday. In response to Delhi’s acute shortage of drinking water, the Himachal Pradesh government has been directed to release 137 cusecs of surplus water to the national capital on Friday.