MUMBAI: RBI’s announcement on Wednesday of a Rs 2.11 lakh crore dividend will make available a bonanza for the new govt when it takes office after the ongoing
national elections
.
In a statement issued after its board meeting, RBI said the dividend was computed after maintaining a contingent risk buffer at 6.5% of its balance sheet. The buffer is at the higher end of the 6.5 to 5.5% band recommended by the Bimal Jalan committee, which indicates that RBI’s payout follows record earnings.
RBI’s total income and sources of income are disclosed in the annual report, which is published later in the year. Considering that
public sector banks
too have reported
record profits
and are declaring dividend, govt revenues are likely to overshoot
budgeted numbers
. This year’s dividend is 140% of the Rs 87,400 crore declared for FY23. The highest dividend declared by RBI so far was Rs 1.7 lakh crore in FY19.
