The RBI board also reviewed the current economic situation and measures taken by the central bank to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19

Amid Covid-19 financial stress faced by the center due to the nationwide lockdown, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has transferred a surplus of ₹57,128 crore to the center for the financial year 2019-2020. The central board of RBI also decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB) at 5.5 percent, a report by Hindu BusinessLine said.

The transfer, however, is much lower than the RBI’s payout last financial year when the parameters for paying dividends to the Centre were tweaked. In 2018-2019, the higher transfer was as a result of the RBI central board accepting all the recommendations of the expert committee headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, said the report.

Chief Economist, CARE Ratings, Madan Sabnavis noticed that even after taking into account the RBI’s surplus transfer of ₹57,128 crores to the Centre, there is still a deficit of ₹32,520.51 crores to meet the FY21 Union Budget’s non-tax revenue projection and he felt that it is unlikely to fill the deficit under this category as per the report.

The RBI board also reviewed the current economic situation, continued global and domestic challenges, and the monetary, regulatory, and other measures taken by RBI to mitigate the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. A proposal to set up an Innovation Hub was discussed and the annual report and RBI accounts for 2019-2020 were approved by the board.