The board of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the transfer of ₹57,128 crore as surplus to the government for the accounting year 2019-20, while deciding to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%, the RBI said in a statement on Friday.

Last year, the central bank had transferred ₹1.76 lakh crore, which included ₹1.23 lakh crore as dividend and ₹52,637 crore of excess provisions.

“The Board reviewed the current economic situation, continued global and domestic challenges and the monetary, regulatory and other measures taken by RBI to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19 pandemic,” the RBI said in a statement, following a meeting of its board chaired by Governor Shaktikanta Das.

While the RBI’s payout will partly bolster the Centre’s pandemic-hit finances, it is unlikely to help bridge a huge shortfall in receipts as both tax revenue and capital proceeds from planned disinvestments are set to suffer setbacks with the economy poised to shrink this fiscal in the wake of the national and regional lockdowns to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

The Board discussed a proposal for setting up an Innovation Hub and also approved the Annual Report, the RBI added.

RBI’s financial year runs from July-June at present and is scheduled to be harmonised with the government’s April-March fiscal starting FY22, Press Trust of India reported. In the current year, the RBI will have a nine-month financial year, ending in March.