The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said its board had greenlit the "transfer of surplus" after taking into account current macroeconomic factors, its own financial performance and the "maintenance of appropriate risk buffers".

The RBI makes annual transfers to the government that are based on surplus income it generates from its own investments and activities like the printing of banknotes and minting of coins.

The payout for the 2025-26 financial year is higher than the 2.69 trillion rupees transferred last year, but missed the average analyst estimate of around 3 trillion rupees.

India, the world's fastest-growing major economy, has found itself reeling from the global energy shock sparked by the Iran war.

As the world's third-largest buyer of oil, New Delhi normally sources about half of its crude through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been effectively blocked by Iran since the beginning of the Middle East conflict on February 28.

Elevated global crude prices are driving up India's import bill, threatening to stoke inflation and widen its current account deficit to a 14-year high while placing pressure on an already beleaguered rupee.

Rising fertiliser prices -- a portion of global urea exports pass through Hormuz -- could also add to New Delhi's farmer subsidy bill, throwing a wrench into the budget calculations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.

Economists have cut India's GDP growth projections for the 2026-27 financial year and have warned that New Delhi is likely to breach its budgeted fiscal deficit target for the same twelve months.

The RBI's dividend "will partially offset higher fertiliser subsidies", Teresa John of Nirmal Bang Institutional Equities told AFP.

"However, the risk of marginal fiscal slippage still remains."