Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of a surplus of ₹2,86,588.46 crore to the Central Government for the accounting year 2025-26, marking one of the highest-ever payouts by the central bank.
The decision was taken during the 623rd meeting of the Central Board of Directors of the RBI held in Mumbai under the chairmanship of Sanjay Malhotra.
RBI raises contingency risk buffer allocation
The Central Board also approved a transfer of ₹1,09,379.64 crore towards the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) for FY26, significantly higher than ₹44,861.70 crore allocated in the previous financial year.
The RBI said the decision was taken after considering prevailing macroeconomic conditions, the financial performance of the central bank and the need to maintain adequate risk buffers.
Following the allocation, the CRB has been maintained at 6.5% of the size of the RBI balance sheet. Under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), the CRB can be maintained within a range of 4.5% to 7.5% of the balance sheet size.
RBI balance sheet expands over 20%
The Board reviewed both global and domestic economic conditions, including risks to the economic outlook, while deliberating on the annual accounts of the central bank for FY26.
The RBI reported that its gross income increased 26.42% year-on-year during FY26, while expenditure before risk provisions rose 27.60%.
Net income before risk provisions and transfer to statutory funds stood at ₹3,95,972.10 crore in FY26, compared to ₹3,13,455.77 crore in FY25. The balance sheet of the RBI expanded 20.61% to ₹91,97,121.08 crore as of March 31, 2026.
Top officials attend Central Board meeting
Deputy Governors Swaminathan J, Poonam Gupta, Shirish Chandra Murmu and Rohit Jain attended the meeting along with directors of the Central Board.
Other attendees included Nagaraju Maddirala, Secretary, Department of Financial Services, along with board members Anand Mahindra, Venu Srinivasan, Pankaj Ramanbhai Patel, Satish Kashinath Marathe, Revathy Iyer and Prof. Sachin Chaturvedi.