India’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is most likely to announce a cut in its repo rate for the first time in three years in order to give a boost to the slowing economic growth in the country.

RBI's deputy governor Subir Gokarn had earlier indicated that RBI’s stand on monetary policy will depend on the level of oil prices in the international markets and the domestic economic growth rates.

Experts say that the central bank will announce a reduction in its repo rate even as high oil and food prices continue to put pressure on inflation. They expect the central bank to reduce the rate repo rate by 25 basis points to 8.25 percent on April 17, according to a latest Reuters poll.

The RBI has not changed its key lending rates since its policy review in mid-December. It had increased the rates 13 times since March 2010 in order to control the stubborn inflation in the country. The last cut in the repo rate was in April 2009.

The central bank had kept its repo rate unchanged at 8.5 percent during its mid-quarter review even as most were expecting it to reduce the rate to boost the slowing economic growth in the country. The cash reserve ratio was also kept at 4.75 percent following a reduction by 75 basis points on Friday.

The RBI had announced a reduction in the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 75 basis points in March to 4.75 percent aiming to boost liquidity in the market.