Mumbai: India's central bank expanded its version of quantitative easing (QE) to keep borrowing costs anchored, as economic growth is seen faltering because of a resurgent COVID-19 wave. The Reserve Bank of India will buy an additional 1.2 trillion rupees ($16.4 billion) of bonds under the so-called Government Securities Acquisition Programme 2.0, Governor Shaktikanta Das said. The programme is aimed at keeping government borrowing costs anchored to ensure it can aid an economic recovery. The central bank lowered its expectation for gross domestic product growth to 9.5 per cent in the current fiscal year, down from 10.5 per cent previously. The Monetary Policy Committee kept the benchmark repurchase rate steady at 4 per cent.