The Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of ₹87,416 crore in surplus to the central government for the fiscal year 2022-23. The central bank also decided to raise the emergency risk buffer to 6% from the previous 5.5%, the central bank said in a press release.

Apex Bank had transferred 30,307 crore to the government in FY22 compared to 99,122 crore a year earlier, resulting in a 69.42% drop.

“The Board also discussed the operations of the Reserve Bank in April 2022-March 2023 and approved the Reserve Bank’s annual report and accounts for the 2022-23 financial year. The board approved the transfer of ₹87,416 crore as a surplus to “For fiscal year 2022-23, the central government has decided to leave the emergency risk buffer at 6%,” the central bank said.

The 602nd meeting of the Reserve Bank of India’s Central Board was held today in Mumbai, chaired by RBI Governor Shakktanta Das. At its meeting, the Executive Board addressed the global and domestic economic situation and the challenges it poses, including the impact of current global geopolitical developments.

Deputy Governors Shri Mahesh Kumar Jain, Dr. Michael Debabrata Patra, Shri M. Rajeshwar Rao, Shri T. Rabi Sankar and other Directors of the Governing Board viz. Shri Satish K. Marathe, Smt. Revathy Iyer, Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi, Shri Anand Gopal Mahindra, Shri Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel and Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia attended the meeting. Shri Ajay Seth, Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, also attended the meeting.

The Reserve Bank’s (RBI) balance sheet plays a critical role in the functioning of the country’s economy and largely reflects the activities undertaken as part of its currency issuance function and the objectives of monetary policy and reserve management.

RBI Governor Shakkanta Das had previously said domestic growth momentum remained buoyant in the final quarter of FY23. “Looking ahead, the government’s push on infrastructure spending would support investment activity. The drag from net foreign demand is easing. Overall, the expansion in economic activity and the strength of the external sector have given us leeway to continue our consistent focus on inflation,” Das said at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in April.

While RBI has yet to publish the FY23 annual report on its website, its FY22 annual report states that the Reserve Bank’s total assets increased by 8.46% as of March 31, 2022, mainly due to its Liquidity and foreign exchange operations throughout the year. While revenue for the year rose 20.14%, expenses rose 280.13%.