Reserve Bank board approves transfer of Rs 2.11 trillion surplus to govt

The Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved the transfer of Rs 2.1 trillion (Rs 2,10,874 crore) as surplus to the central government for the 2023-24 accounting year. This decision was made during the 608th Central Board meeting in Mumbai, chaired by Governor Shaktikanta Das. The RBI reviewed the global and domestic economic scenarios, including risks to the outlook, and approved the RBI’s Annual Report and Financial Statements for 2023-24. \r

The surplus transfer is based on the Economic Capital Framework (ECF) adopted on August 26, 2019, following an expert committee's recommendations. This framework requires maintaining risk provisioning within 5.5 to 6.5 percent of the RBI’s balance sheet under the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB). During 2018-19 to 2021-22, due to challenging macroeconomic conditions and the Covid-19 pandemic, the CRB was kept at 5.5 percent to support economic growth. \r

With economic recovery in FY23, the CRB was raised to 6 percent and further to 6.5 percent for FY24, reflecting the economy's resilience. The meeting was attended by Deputy Governors and Central Board Directors, including Michael Debabrata Patra, M Rajeshwar Rao, T Rabi Sankar, Swaminathan J, Satish K Marathe, Revathy Iyer, Anand Gopal Mahindra, Venu Srinivasan, Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel, and Ravindra H Dholakia.