RBI’s Balance Sheet Grows 8.2% in FY 2024-25 on Strong Foreign Earnings

By - Englishsurat May 30, 2025 Comments (0) 2 Mins Read

RBI’s The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reported an 8.2% expansion in its balance sheet for the financial year 2024-25, driven largely by strong foreign earnings. As of March 31, 2025, the RBI’s balance sheet stood at ₹76.25 lakh crore, up from ₹70.48 lakh crore a year earlier.

The RBI’s balance sheet reflects key regulatory functions, including currency issuance, monetary policy execution, and reserve management. The central bank’s income rose 22.77% to ₹3.38 lakh crore in 2024-25, compared to ₹2.76 lakh crore in the previous year. Meanwhile, expenditure increased by 7.76% to ₹69,714 crore from ₹64,694 crore.

A significant boost came from foreign sources, where income surged 38.07% to ₹2.59 lakh crore, up from ₹1.87 lakh crore in 2023-24. The return on foreign currency assets also improved, rising to 5.31% from 4.21%. However, domestic earnings declined 9.80% to ₹79,470 crore, mainly due to a fall in interest income from rupee securities, which dropped 7.63% to ₹85,524 crore.

On the asset side, the increase was led by a 52.09% rise in gold holdings, a 14.32% rise in domestic investments, and a 1.7% increase in foreign investments. On the liabilities side, growth was driven by a 6.03% rise in notes issued, a 17.32% increase in revaluation accounts, and a 23.31% jump in other liabilities.

As of March 31, 2025, foreign currency assets, gold (including deposits and gold held domestically), and loans to overseas financial institutions accounted for 74.27% of total assets, while domestic assets made up the remaining 25.73%. This compares with 76.69% and 23.31%, respectively, a year earlier.

The RBI’s gold reserves rose to 879.58 metric tonnes in 2025 from 822.10 metric tonnes in 2024—an increase of 57.48 tonnes.

‘Other liabilities’ increased by 23.31% to ₹3.21 lakh crore, primarily due to a higher surplus payable to the Central Government. For 2024-25, the RBI transferred a record ₹2.69 lakh crore in surplus to the government, up from ₹2.11 lakh crore in the previous year.

Under the revised Economic Capital Framework (ECF), the Contingent Risk Buffer (CRB) is required to be maintained within a range of 4.5% to 7.5% of the balance sheet. The RBI’s central board decided to maintain the CRB at the upper limit of 7.5% for 2024-25, resulting in a provision of ₹44,861.7 crore being allocated to the Contingency Fund.