Govt expects Rs 28,000 cr interim dividend from RBI: DEA Secy

The government expects Rs 28,000 crore interim dividend from the Reserve Bank of India in the current fiscal, Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg said.

The government has already received Rs 40,000 crore from the RBI during FY2018-19, he told reporters in the post Budget interaction.

Meanwhile, the government has revised dividend or surplus of the RBI, nationalised banks and financial institutions to Rs 74,140.37 crore from Rs 54,817.25 crore estimated earlier in the Budget 2018-19.

When asked how much interim dividend the government expects from the RBI during the current fiscal, he said, "Rs 28,000 crore".

Last year, the RBI had announced a dividend payment of Rs 50,000 crore, including Rs 10,000 crore interim dividend, to the government.

Garg further said the decision with regard to interim dividend will be taken in the next board meeting.

The interim dividend will help government ease fiscal pressure as the money would come before March.

If the central board of RBI agrees to pay Rs 28,000 crore as interim dividend, total surplus transfer to the government would be Rs 68,000 crore in the current fiscal.

The Reserve Bank, which follows July-June financial year, paid about 63 per cent higher dividend than previous year (2016-17). The RBI made a dividend payout of Rs 30,659 crore for the fiscal ended June 2017.