In an era characterised by heightened global uncertainty, geopolitical flux, and rapid technological transformation, India's monetary and financial sectors have exhibited robust performance in FY26, April-December 2025, underpinned by strategic policy actions and structural resilience across financial intermediation channels.

Regulatory innovation, transparency, and accountability are crucial for addressing the challenges of an uncertain era, highlights the recent Economic Survey. Further, it states that tapping into innovative and inclusive channels of domestic finance is necessary, as these can serve as a buffer against shocks to volatile global finance.

In this context, India's financial regulatory architecture demonstrates a clear recognition of this imperative, as evidenced by the RBI’s landmark framework for the formulation of regulations issued in May last year. This framework institutionalises a transparent, consultative, and impact-driven Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation approach to regulation-making.

According to the Economic Survey, India’s approach to monetary management balances macroeconomic objectives with social goals. Further, the quality of financial sector regulation has emerged as a critical determinant of economic resilience and sustained growth. The document states that by maintaining price stability, supporting financial stability, and promoting inclusive growth, monetary policy acts as a key enabler of sustainable development and economic prosperity in the country.

The Economic Survey informs that in response to moderating inflation, the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee reduced the repo rate, while injecting durable liquidity through cash reserve ratio cuts and open market operations. These reductions were aimed at boosting credit flow, investment, and overall economic activity. Further, these measures have been effectively transmitted to lending rates, with the weighted average lending rates of scheduled commercial banks declining, reflecting the true expansionary stance of monetary policy.

Throughout FY26, RBI remained agile in its liquidity management, ensuring that adequate liquidity was maintained in the banking system. This proactive approach facilitated effective transmission to the money and credit markets, meeting the economy’s productive requirements. Monetary policy transmission to lending and deposit rates of scheduled commercial banks has been robust amid surplus liquidity conditions.

The positive trend in the broad money growth – over 12 per cent from around nine per cent a year ago - indicates that the banks have effectively leveraged the liquidity released by the CRR cut. Also, RBI’s OMO purchases injected durable liquidity into the system, as represented by a surplus of about ₹1.89 lakh crore on average during FY26, as measured by the net position under the liquidity adjustment facility.