Moderation in inflation to five-month low of 4.3 per cent in January has provided RBI more space to cut interest rate in policy meet, according to the monthly economic review by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER). Earlier this month, RBI slashed policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 per cent. The next monetary policy committee meeting is to be held in April. Even in the face of global headwinds, some of the high-frequency indicators of the Indian economy have turned more benign and the nascent turnaround is evident in indicators like Purchasing Managers' Index for manufacturing, GST collections and non-EV and EV sales, it said. PMI for manufacturing increased to 57.7 in January, signalling expansion, while PMI for services remained at an elevated level of 56.5. The economic think tank added that GST collections, gross and net, achieved robust double-digit growth of 12.3 per cent and 10.9 per cent, respectively in January 2025, as compared to subdued a .