Here is a fact check of these claims. The officialTwitter handle of Indian National Congress (INC) on 21 September 2019, tweeted about theshortfall in government earnings for 2018-19 and the additional burden it needsto bear in 2019-20 due to the latest corporate tax cuts. It further claimed inthe tweet that the shortage in government earnings was compensated by ‘looting’RBI. Here is a fact check of these claims. What is the difference in Central government’s estimates & actuals of revenue receipts for 2018-19? Claim: There was a shortfall in government earnings in 2018-19 to the tune of Rs.1.7 lakh crores and the shortfall was compensated by taking money from RBI. Fact: There is a difference which amounted to Rs. 1.7 lakh crores between the ‘Provisional Actuals’ of revenue receipts provided in the Economic Survey of India and the ‘Revised Estimates’ of revenue receipts as reported by the government for 2018-19. Since provisional actuals (PA) may be a better estimate of the actual figures, there could well be a shortfall in government earnings for 2018-19. Hence the claim is TRUE. Further, RBI has transferred Rs. 1.76 lakh cores to the government, the purpose and utility of which the government has not been clarified. This transfer is based on recommendations of an expert committee, hence the claim of terming the transfer as a ‘loot’ is MISLEADING. Prior to thebudget presentation for 2019-20, the Ministry of Finance has released Economic Survey 2018-19 report. In this report, the Provisional Actuals of revenue receipts for 2018-19 stand at Rs. 15.6lakh crores. Meanwhile, the budget for 2019-20 provides the Revised Estimate of government Revenue receipts at Rs. 17.3 lakh crores. Revised estimates provided in budget is a projection of how much the government is expected to earn, whereas the Provisional actuals are a more accurate estimate of the government earnings during that specified period since it comes from the ‘Controller General of Accounts (CGA)’. The difference between these provisional actuals and the revised estimates for revenue receipts of the government amounts to Rs. 1.7 lakh crores which is considered to be a deficit in the government earnings, compared to the estimates. While the actual earnings for 2018-19 will only be known when the budget for 2020-21 is presented, the Provisional actuals do point to a shortfall in the government’s earnings. The Economic Survey 2018-19 cites lower Gross Tax Revenue (GTR) as the reason for the fall in revenue receipts. So the claim that there is a shortfall in government revenue receipts is TRUE. RBI’s transfer to government based on recommendations of Expert committee An expert committee to review the Economic Capital Framework of RBI was constituted and headed by former RBI Governor Bimal Jalan. The extent to which RBI can maintain its reserves for future contingencies, and the surplus it transfers to the government has always been an issue of contention. The committee was supposed to give its recommendations regarding both these issues. In addition tothe other revenue receipts, Government of India also depends on the surplustransfers from RBI to meet its public spending. Hence the government expects ahigher surplus to be transferred. RBI, on the other hand has a moreconservative approach and maintains higher reserves. In this context, an expertcommittee was setup to evaluate the provision for reserves that RBI shouldmaintain and the surplus of profits that RBI needs to transfer to government. The committee submitted a report to the RBIGovernor with its recommendations. In line withthe recommendations, RBI has decided the transfer of Rs. 1.76 lakh crores to Government of India. This includes Rs. 1.23lakh crores as surplus for the year 2018-19 and Rs. 0.52 lakh crores as excessprovisions identified after the revised Economic Capital Framework. The surplus transferred to Government of Indiaby RBI over the last 10 years is in the following chart. While it is true thatthe transfer in 2018-19 is almost twice the previous highest, it is misleadingto say that the government looted it from RBI. It was based on therecommendations of a committee. However, it remains to be seen how this surplusis going to be used by the government. It is also true that the amount transferred to Government of India by RBI matches the difference between the Provisional Actuals and Revised estimates of revenue receipts. However, it may not be proper to say that the surplus transfer is due to the deficit. Further, with the revised Economic Capital Framework for RBI, Governments might receive a higher surplus than this in future. The additional burden due to Corporate tax cuts cannot be ascertained as yet Claim: The additional burden due to Corporate tax cuts to the tune of Rs.