New Delhi, June 24: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday received a dividend cheque of Rs 2,762 crore on behalf of the government from the Bank of Baroda for the financial year ended on March 31, 2025.

The cheque was presented by Bank of Baroda Managing Director and CEO Debadatta Chand to the Finance Minister at her North Block office in the presence of senior officials.

Government-owned Bank of Baroda had recently announced a 3.3 per cent increase in its standalone net profit for Q4FY25 to Rs 5,048 crore, up from Rs 4,886 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year. The bank had also declared a dividend of Rs 8.35 per equity share for FY2024-25.

During the January–March quarter, BoB generated Rs 30,642 crore in interest income, reflecting a 3.6 per cent rise from Rs 29,583.40 crore a year earlier.

Earlier this month, Finance Minister Sitharaman received a dividend cheque of Rs 8,076.84 crore on behalf of the government from the State Bank of India (SBI) for the financial year 2024-25.

India’s top public sector companies in the financial, power and energy sectors have recorded a robust growth in profit during the January-March quarter of 2024-25, which is expected to further strengthen the government’s fiscal position.

The country’s largest lender, the SBI, and insurance giant Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) led the charge with a net profit of Rs 18,643 crore and Rs 19,013 crore, respectively. The SBI's net profit for the financial year 2024-25 has now soared to Rs 70,901 crore, while LIC has recorded an impressive net profit of Rs 48,151 crore for the year.

In the energy sector, Coal India earned a net profit of Rs 9,604 crore during the fourth quarter, while Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) registered a net profit of Rs 7,265 crore, with upstream oil exploration giant ONGC registering a net profit of Rs 6,448 crore during the quarter.

In the power sector, the country’s largest electricity producer, NTPC, recorded a net profit of Rs 7,897 crore, while the Power Finance Corporation (PFC), which also comes under the Ministry of Power, earned a robust Rs 8,358 crore. Power Grid Corporation of India also registered a strong profit of Rs 4,143 crore during the January-March quarter.

Apart from higher contributions to the government’s finances through higher dividends, the large public sector enterprises boost revenue through higher payments of corporate taxes.

Besides, the large capex plans of these government-owned enterprises play a key role in driving growth and creating jobs in the economy.

Meanwhile, the government has succeeded in meeting its fiscal deficit target for 2024-25, fixed at 4.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the revised budget estimate for the year, data released by the Controller General of Accounts on Friday showed.

According to the CGA data, the central government collected Rs 30.36 lakh crore as revenue as both tax and non-tax receipts, which works out to 98.3 per cent of the revised Budget Estimates (RE). The earnings of PSUs constitute an important part of these non-tax receipts.

--IANS

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