New Delhi, Oct. 21 -- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) policymakers agreed that rising inflation required close monitoring but differed over how strongly the central bank should signal further interest rate hikes, according to the minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting released on Wednesday.

The MPC met from October 5 to 7, when all six members voted to increase the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.5%. The increase marked the first rate hike in nearly four years, reflecting growing concerns about persistent price pressures.

RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra said the duration and extent of the rate-hiking cycle would depend on actual economic growth and inflation developments, as well as their outlook.

"The extent...