Bimal Jalan Committee On RBI Reserves Finalises Report, To Recommend Surplus Transfer Over 3-5 Years In Phased Manner

The six-member Bimal Jalan Committee formed to assess the adequate size of capital reserves that should be held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has finalised its recommendations, Tribune has reported. The report will be submitted to the RBI within the next few days.

As per the report, the committee plans to recommend a phased transfer of the surplus capital from the RBI to the government over 3-5 years. This is in-line with the then Finance Ministry demand that the central bank follow global best practices and transfer the surplus capital to the government.

“We have discussed everything. Now, it is the final report. It would be to tell what is the exact amount of transfer or the calculation. Transfer would be in a phased manner as is the practice,” sources quoted in the report said.

RBI currently holds as much as Rs 9 lakh crore in surplus capital as per estimates which the government wants to channel towards meeting its investment push while maintaining the fiscal deficit targets. Apart from the surplus capital transfer, the government also expects a Rs 90,000 crore dividend from the RBI in the current fiscal, as opposed to the Rs 68,000 crore dividend in the last one.