The transfer of the surplus — also referred to as a dividend payment — has provided a significant boost to the government’s non-tax revenues in recent years. RBI on Friday said its balance sheet expanded 20.6% to Rs 91.9 lakh crore at the end of the last financial year.
Net income before risk provisions and transfers to statutory reserves rose to Rs 3.9 lakh crore in FY26, from Rs 3.13 lakh crore a year earlier, supported by a 26.4% rise in gross income even as expenditure increased 27.6%. The surplus transfer was calculated under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), which requires the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) to be maintained between 4.5% and 7.5% of the balance sheet.
For FY26, RBI lowered the CRB to 6.5% down from 7.5% last year, enabling a higher payout. “Taking into consideration the current macroeconomic factors, financial performance of the bank and maintenance of appropriate risk buffers, the central board decided to transfer Rs 1.09 lakh crore to the Contingent Risk Buffer for FY26, as against Rs 44.8 crore last year,” the RBI said.
The payout was in line with estimates and slightly above budget assumptions, said Sakshi Gupta, principal economist at HDFC Bank. “The dividend is influenced by RBI’s OMO (open market operation) purchases in the last fiscal and income from foreign exchange operations through dollar sales,” she said, adding that it does not materially alter the fiscal outlook, given rising subsidy pressures.
In the February budget, the government estimated Rs 3.16 lakh crore in dividends from state-owned companies and the RBI. State-owned banks have already announced dividends totalling Rs 25,421 crore for last financial year, according to ICRA Ratings.
The transfer broadly matches budgeted expectations and does not provide additional fiscal headroom, said Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank. “RBI’s income has been supported by interest income from government securities and foreign treasury holdings,” she said.
“From a liquidity perspective, the dividend will provide a temporary boost, though the need for liquidity infusion is likely to emerge in the second half of the fiscal.” The central board, which met on Friday, also reviewed the global and domestic macroeconomic outlook and associated risks, it said in a statement.