RBI to Transfer Rs 99,122 Crore Surplus to Centre for 9 Months Ended in March

The central board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday has approved the transfer of Rs 99,122 crore as surplus to the government for nine months period ended on March 31, 2021. “With the change in the Reserve Bank’s accounting year to April-March (earlier July-June), the board discussed the working of the Reserve Bank of India during the transition period of nine months (July 2020-March 2021) and approved the annual report and accounts of the Reserve Bank for the transition period. The Board also approved the transfer of ₹99,122 crore as surplus to the Central Government for the accounting period of nine months ended March 31, 2021 (July 2020-March 2021),” the central bank said a notification released on Friday. The board decided to maintain the contigency risk buffer at 5.5%, the notification said.

The government had budgeted ₹61,826 crore as dividends from RBI and state-run banks and financial institutions for FY21, according to the Union Budget. For FY22, the Budget estimated Rs 53,511 crore as dividends from RBI and PSU banks.

“Amidst the second wave of COVID-19, transfer of this surplus amount to Central government would definitely provide needed financial help to, inter alia, spur investment and improve economic situation in the country across various sectors,” Harish Kumar, partner, L&L Partners, said.

Last year, RBI had transferred Rs 57,128 to the central exchequer for the year ended June 2020. This was also the lowest surplus transfer in the past seven years before last year. In 2019, RBI transferred a whopping Rs 1,23,414 crore surplus to central government.

The central board of directors of Reserve Bank of India met on Friday to review the recent policy measures to mitigate the adverse impact of the second wave of COVID-19 on the economy. The board also took stock of the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges under the chairmanship of RBI governor Shaktikanta Das.

Deputy governors Mahesh Kumar Jain, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar and other directors of the central board of RBI were present in the meeting. Debasish Panda, secretary, department of financial services and Ajay Seth, secretary, department of economic affairs also attended the meeting.

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