Can't Say How Funds From RBI Will Be Utilised: Nirmala Sitharaman

A day after the Central Board of Reserve Bank of India decided to payout Rs 1.76 lakh crore from its reserve and surplus to the government of India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the government has not yet decided on how the funds from the central bank will be utilised.

"How the funds will be utilised I can't say right now. The government will take a decision and we will inform thereafter," Ms Sitharaman told reporters while addressing a press conference in Pune.

The record transfer, including a surplus of Rs. 1.23 lakh crore for 2018-19, will boost the government's finances at a time it strives to tackle a nearly five-year low economic growth with lakhs of estimated job cuts across sectors, and defend its ambitious target of containing fiscal deficit at 3.3 per cent of the GDP.

The transfer of surplus and excess dividend is in line with the recommendations of the Bimal Jalan Committee, which was tasked to review the Economic Capital Framework of the RBI.

Addressing concerns raised on the autonomy of Reserve Bank after its decision to transfer the huge amount to the government, Ms Sitharaman said, "Bimal Jalan committee had eminent experts in it, was constituted by Reserve Bank itself and not by the government."

"They gave a formula based on which the amount was arrived at. Now, any suggestion about the credibility of the RBI, for me, seems a bit outlandish, considering the committee was appointed by the Reserve Bank themselves," Ms Sitharaman added.