New Delhi, Oct. 5 -- The Reserve Bank of India is expected to keep the repo rate unchanged at its October policy meeting despite rising inflation risks, before beginning a rate-hike cycle in December that could deliver a cumulative 50-75 basis points of tightening, according to a report by Bank of Baroda (BoB).

As per BoB, credit and deposit growth in India remains strong, with the gap narrowing sharply as FCNR(B) deposits rise. At the same time, India's credit growth has also remained broad-based, led by industry and services, with infrastructure and export-oriented sectors outperforming within industrial lending.

As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) began its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Monday, the lender expects "RBI to ...