Rbi & #39;S Total Income Dips A Tad

The Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) total income in fiscal 2000-01 (July-June) declined by 0.5 per cent (Rs 112.10 crore) to Rs 21,848.87 crore compared with Rs 21,960.97 crore recorded in the previous year. The decline would have been sharper but for a 55 per cent growth in earnings from foreign sources.

The decline in the banking regulator's total income is mainly due to a 23.8 per cent fall in income from domestic sources at Rs 11,762.79 crore in the reporting fiscal against Rs 15,446.24 crore in 1999-2000.

RBI has attributed the fall in domestic income to the decline of Rs 3,198.31 crore in the profits booked on sale of rupee securities from Rs 3,280.54 crore in 1999-2000 to Rs 82.23 crore in 2000-01. Interest income received on Reserve Bank's investment in government securities also fell by Rs 293.22 crore to Rs 8,669.10 crore in 2000-01 against Rs 8,962.32 crore in the previous fiscal. Interest earnings on loans and advances to banks/ financial institutions rose by Rs 292.33 crore to Rs 1,630.17 crore (Rs 1,337.84).

 

However, the central bank's earnings from foreign sources shot up by 55 per cent to Rs 10,086.08 crore (Rs 6,514.73 crore in 1999-2000). Its net earnings from the deployment of foreign currency assets including gold increased by 54.8 per cent to Rs 10,086.08 crore (Rs 6,514.73 crore) due to the higher average level of foreign currency assets at Rs 1,68,577 crore (Rs 1,40,275 crore) and also a higher return on these assets. The net earnings on the foreign currency assets and gold increased from 4.6 per cent in 1999-2000 to 6 per cent in 2000-01.

After accounting for transfer to the contingency reserve at Rs 6,202.57 crore (Rs 6,554.50 crore) and the asset development reserve at Rs 704.78 crore (Rs 711.55 crore), the RBI's net total income stood at Rs 14,941.52 crore (Rs 14,694.92 crore), according to its annual report.

Total expenditure of apex bank increased by 4.6 per cent in the accounting period at Rs 5,587.52 crore (Rs 5,340.92 crore). Of this, interest payment was up by 1.2 per cent to Rs 1,994.80 crore (Rs 1,971.88 crore) while the establishment and non-establishment expenditure rose by 2.8 per cent each to Rs 870.85 crore (Rs 846.75 crore) and Rs 2,721.87 crore (Rs 2,522.29), respectively.

The net disposable income of the central bank amounted to Rs 9,354 crore, the same as in the previous year. Of this, it transferred Rs 9,350 crore as surplus transferable to the central government while Rs one crore each was transferred to the four reserves - contingency, asset development, exchange fluctuation and exchange equalisation reserves.