In this article, we have employed ‘shutdown’ methodology, not used before in the Indian context, to study the relative importance of alternative channels of monetary policy transmission. We have, for the first time, studied the impact of monetary policy on consumer price index (CPI) inflation. In response to a shock to the operating target, the maximum decline in gross domestic product growth occurs with a lag of two to three quarters, while the impact on inflation (both CPI and wholesale price index) is felt with a lag of three to four quarters. The interest rate channel is found to be the most dominant channel of monetary policy transmission in India.