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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said the growth outlook and business climate have weakened but warned of upward risks to inflation, a day before it is widely expected to keep policy interest rates on hold.

The BSE Sensex rose for a third straight session, inching up 0.08 percent on Monday, helped by financials while a decline in Reliance Industries (RELI.NS), which reported its first quarterly profit fall in two years, capped the index gains.

India's economy will grow at its slowest pace in two years this fiscal year, as tight monetary policy and a logjam in government policy making stifles investment, a Reuters poll showed.

The rupee fell for the first session in seven on Friday as dollar demand from oil importers overwhelmed inflows, although suspected central bank intervention helped the currency recover smartly from the day's low.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will not cut interest rates at its review on Tuesday, although it is nearly unanimously expected to do so by the end of June, a Reuters poll of 22 economists showed.

India's headline inflation slowed sharply in December to a two-year low as food price pressure eased dramatically, but the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is still expected to leave interest rates on hold next week as manufacturing inflation remained elevated.

The Reserve Bank of India has set guidelines for compensation of senior bank executives, imposing restrictions on guaranteed bonus, severance pay as well as a cap on variable pay, in line with global moves to rationalise pay structures and curb risktaking.

The Reserve Bank of India has cautioned some large foreign banks for encouraging local companies to participate in speculative trades in the foreign exchange market, the Business Standard reported on Thursday.

Housing Development Finance Corp, India's largest mortgage lender, expects the RBI to cut the cash reserve ratio, rather than interest rates, at its monetary policy review on January 24, Chief Executive Keki Mistry said.

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday the economy would likely withstand an uncertain external environment to grow about 7 percent this fiscal year, which is lower than a revised forecast of about 7.5 percent issued by the government last month.

The Reserve Bank of India said on Thursday that overseas borrowings up to $20 million in a financial year will have a minimum average maturity of three years under the automatic approval route, the RBI said in a statement.

RBI is likely to begin easing monetary policy to address concerns about economic growth, Governor Duvvuri Subbarao said in a BBC interview.

The rupee ended the year with its biggest annual loss since 2008 as foreign capital took flight on growing concerns about India's current account deficit, its poorly performing stock market and an uncertain global economic outlook.

Annual food inflation eased for a ninth straight week to its lowest in nearly six years in mid-December on improved supplies, bolstering hopes of a cooling in overall inflation that will allow the RBI to shift focus to reviving growth by cutting rates.

Controlling inflation remains an overriding priority, Sonia Gandhi, the head of the ruling Congress party said on Wednesday, indicating inflation, which has refused to budge from above 9 percent for a year now, is a matter of grave concern.

Policy paralysis, corruption scandals and a government fearful of political backlash to any bold moves have worsening domestic finances, and Incredible India is no longer incredible.

India's economic gloom deepened on Wednesday as figures showed a record low rupee is adding to Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) inflation headache and an adviser to the prime minister said there was little that could be done to check the currency's slump.

India's wholesale prices rose more than expected in November, leaving inflation stubbornly high and suggesting the RBI would hold rates steady at its review on Friday even as worries grow over the health of the economy.

If Indian policymakers are hoping the country's slowing economy can rebound largely the same way it did from the 2008 global financial crisis, they are dreaming. India's economic slowdown is likely to prolong.

India's headline inflation likely eased in November to 9.04 percent from 9.73 percent the month before as food prices fell to their lowest in nearly three-and-a-half years, a Reuters poll showed.

Food inflation in the country has eased, sharply, to 6.60 percent from 8.00 percent in the previous week, in the year to Nov. 26, according to government data released on Thursday.

The rupee extended its drop to the third session Thursday, dragged by weak domestic equities amid investor concern over slowing growth and lackluster policymaking.

India may face its worst financial crisis in decades if it fails to stem a slide in the rupee, leaving the Reserve Bank of India with a difficult choice over how to make best use of its limited reserves to maintain the confidence of foreign investors.

India's moderating growth will help to ease inflationary pressure in the country, deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India Subir Gokarn said on Saturday.

India's economy grew at the slowest pace in more than two years, according to the recent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers which shows the country's economy rose 6.9 percent in the July-September quarter.

India's Gross domestic product growth fell to 6.9 percent in the second quarter of the financial year. The GDP growth figure is the weakest pace in more than two years.

In a recently released report, Citigroup has negatively revised its earlier growth estimates for India, for the Fiscal Year 2011-12, amid a slowing global economy and domestic headwinds.

Political parties and leaders who oppose the move should study and understand realities in India and support and augment the actions needed to ensure that the decision is implemented in the right manner. If executed in the right way, it is certainly the step ahead in developing the much desired rural infrastructure and also keeping inflation in check, writes Bhaskar Prasad.

India's growth story is still credible and the move to open up the economy to global supermarket chains will help growth and control inflation, says RBI Governor Duvvuri Subbarao.