RBI to pay Rs 30,307 crore dividend to Centre for FY22

Last year in May, RBI declared a dividend of Rs 99,122 crore for the July 2020 to March 2021

The Reserve Bank of India Friday decided to transfer Rs 30,307 as its surplus to the government for the accounting year 2021-22, sharply lower from Rs 99,122 cr in 2020-21. However, it may not impact the government much as robust tax collections this year have relieved the government of pressure on its deficits.

This is also sharply lower than the Union Budget estimate of nearly Rs 74,000 crore from the RBI and other state-run banks.

The RBI Board has approved the transfer of Rs 30,307 crore as surplus to the Central Government for the accounting year 2021-22 while deciding to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.50%, the central bank said in a statement.

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"The amount of surplus to be transferred by the RBI to the Government appears to be modestly lower than the budgeted amount. However, the tax receipts are expected to substantially surpass the budgeted level, absorbing the impact of the former," said Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist from ICRA.

The government's total tax revenue in 2022-23 is expected to be in the range of Rs 29-30 lakh crore as against an estimated Rs 27.58 lakh crore.

The Board reviewed the current economic situation, global and domestic challenges and the impact of recent geopolitical developments. It also discussed the working of the Reserve Bank during the year April 2021 – March 2022 and approved the Annual Report and Accounts of the Reserve Bank for the accounting year 2021-22.

Deputy Governors Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, Rajeshwar Rao, and Rabi Sankar attended the meeting held in Mumbai under the Chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das.