RBI holds repo rate at 5.25%, FD rates likely to stay flat

The Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee kept the repo rate unchanged at 5.25% on August 5, signaling stable fixed deposit rates in the near term. Public sector banks currently offer 6.6%-6.8% on one-to-three-year FDs, while private banks offer 6.4%-7.0%. Experts suggest investors consider alternatives like corporate FDs, debt funds, and government securities, and use laddering strategies to manage interest rate risk.