The Reserve Bank of India will pay the government Rs 7,500 crore (Rs 75 billion) in dividends in 2003-04, 30 per cent lower that the Rs 10,300 crore (Rs 10.3 billion) it paid in the current fiscal.
In Budget 2003, the total receipts through dividend and surplus profits of the RBI, nationalised banks and financial institutions have been estimated at Rs 10,724.64 crore (Rs 107.24 billion).
During the current fiscal, banks and FIs, together with the RBI, contributed Rs 11,566.49 crore (Rs 115.66 billion) to the total non-tax revenues of the Centre.
The apex bank alone shelled out Rs 10,300 crore (Rs 103 billion), with 19 nationalised banks and six FIs chipping in just over Rs 1,250 crore (Rs 12.5 billion).
Dividends from RBI, banks and FIs account for almost 15 per cent of the total non-tax revenues of the Centre.
In the current fiscal, the Centre's total non-tax revenues itself has been estimated to be 4 per cent lower at Rs 69,766 crore (Rs 697.66 billion) compared to Rs 72,759 crore (Rs 727.59 billion) in the revised estimates for 2002-03.
According to finance ministry officials, once the debt swap scheme for the states is in place, the revenues could take a further hit since the earlier high-cost loans of the states would be replaced by fresh low-cost debt.
In the current fiscal itself, the total interest receipts are 3 per cent lower at Rs 40,571 crore (Rs 405.71 billion) compared to the Budget estimates.
Officials said the Centre will have to take on the burden of lower interest receipts from the states once their earlier debt carrying an average interest rate of 13.5 per cent is swapped with the present rate of 8-8.5 per cent.
"The Centre will receive a lower interest over the term to maturity of the earlier loans," said an official.
The finance ministry has estimated that the debt swap scheme would help the states save Rs 81,000 crore (Rs 810 billion).
The proposal entails the states prepaying almost Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) between 2002-03 and 2004-05.
While the states have earmarked 20 per cent of their small savings proceeds this year, in the next two years, they will set aside 30 per cent and 40 per cent, respectively towards high-cost debt pre-payment.
