New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday declared a record dividend of around Rs 2.87 lakh crore to Centre for FY26, that would help the government address challenges arising from the ongoing West Asia crisis.

The RBI’s balance sheet expanded by 20.61 per cent to Rs 91.97 lakh crore at the end of March 31, 2026.

The decision was taken at the 623rd meeting of the Central Board of Directors of Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai under the Chairmanship of Governor Sanjay Malhotra.

The Board reviewed the global and domestic economic scenario, including risks to the outlook.

It deliberated on the annual accounts of the Reserve Bank for the FY 2025-26. The gross income of the Bank increased by 26.42 per cent over the previous year while the expenditure before risk provisions increased by 27.60 per cent.

The net income, before risk provision and transfer to statutory funds, aggregated Rs 3,95,972.10 crore in FY 2025-26 as against Rs 3,13,455.77 crore in FY 2024-25, according to the RBI.

“The revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF) provides flexibility to maintain the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) between the range of 4.5 per cent and 7.5 per cent of the size of the Balance Sheet,” the Central Bank said.

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 1,09,379.64 crore towards the CRB for FY 2025-26 as against Rs 44,861.70 crore in the previous year, and maintain the CRB at 6.5 per cent of the size of the RBI Balance Sheet.

The Central Board approved the transfer of surplus of Rs 2,86,588.46 crore to the Central Government for the accounting year 2025-26.

According to the Budget documents, the Centre expects Rs 3.16 lakh crore in dividends and surpluses from the Reserve Bank of India, nationalised banks, and financial institutions in 2026-27.

–IANS

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