(FE)
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Board on Friday announced the dividend payout worth Rs 2.69 lakh crore for the central government for the fiscal year 2024-25. This is the highest ever surplus paid by the central bank and is 27 per cent higher in comparison to FY24.
For FY24, the RBI had paid a record Rs 2.1 lakh crore dividend to the government and before that, for financial year 2022-23, the payout was Rs 87,416 crore. Economists had pegged the surplus transfer to the government in the range of Rs 2.5-3.5 lakh crore for the financial year.
The bonus amount will help the country in its push to narrow the fiscal deficit to 4.4 per cent for this fiscal year.
Further, the contingency risk buffer (CRB) has been hiked to 7.50 per cent from the previous 6.5 per cent.
At the 616th Meeting of the Central Board, which took place on Friday in Mumbai, the board reviewed the global and domestic economic scenario, including risks to the outlook and decided to transfer a surplus of Rs 2,68,590.07 crore to the Narendra Modi-led government.
Every year, the RBI transfers a certain amount to the central government through the surplus income it generates from investments, fluctuations in the valuation of its dollar reserves, and revenue earned from currency printing fees.
