Consolidation demands

The fiscal picture could get complex

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) board last week decided to transfer a Rs 87,416-crore surplus for 2022-23 to the Government of India. The government had budgeted for Rs 48,000 crore as surplus from the RBI, state-owned banks, and financial institutions. The surplus is almost three times what the central bank transferred for 2021-22, though it accounted for only nine months because of the change in the RBI’s accounting year. The surplus is estimated to have been pushed by the central bank’s foreign currency market operations. Since the RBI has decided to transfer 82 per cent more than the budgeted