Repo rate hike by RBI will ease inflationary pressure, says PranabFinance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said that by hiking the short term policy interest rates, RBI has sought to give a strong signal to bring down inflation which continues to hover around 9 per cent. Talking to reporters in New Delhi, he said with policy adjustment, inflation is expected to come down to 6 to 7 percent by the end of the current fiscal. The RBI also raised its March-end inflation projection to 7 per cent from 6 per cent estimated earlier. There are mixed response from the Industry on RBI's monetary policy. Disappointed by yet another interest rate hike, industry on Tuesday described the RBI as being the most aggressive central bank to tame inflation. They said beyond a point salvaging a downward growth spiral could become difficult. Industry across different sectors said the 50 basis points increase in the key interest rates was more than expected and will hurt the investment sentiment, resulting in supply constraints.