Govt asking RBI for at least Rs 23,100 cr interim dividend before 31 March

Last month Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg said the government will ask the central bank for an interim dividend

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Going by the events leading to the October board meeting and the proceedings of the last three meetings, it’s obvious that the government will not let loose the pressure to change the way the Indian central bank operates

Arup Roychoudhury New Delhi

Last Updated : Jan 08 2019 | 01:52 AM IST

The Narendra Modi-led central government is seeking at least Rs 23,100 crore in interim dividend from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) before March 31, as it looks to meet an increasingly difficult fiscal deficit target of 3.3 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2018-19 (FY19).

This will include Rs 13,100 crore that Economic Affairs Secretary Subhash Garg has been publicly seeking from the central bank’s contingency reserve fund since 2017-18 (FY18), officials told Business Standard.

Last month Garg said the government will ask the central bank for an interim dividend, just a day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley ruled out the Modi administration needing RBI's money to bridge any fiscal gap.