IMF quota must reflect India’s new economic strength: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday pitched for further quota reforms at IMF to reflect global economic realities and give India and other emerging economies larger say in the working of multilateral bodies.

Modi said the long pending quota revisions agreed in 2010 have finally come into effect but “even now, IMF quotas do not reflect the global economic realities.”

“Change in quotas is not an issue of increasing the ‘power’ of certain countries. It is an issue of fairness and legitimacy. The belief that quotas can be changed is essential for the fairness of the system,” he said, addressing a conference on Advancing Asia, co-hosted by India and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

For poor nations to respect the legitimacy of such institutions, they must be able to aspire and to hope, he said.

“I am, therefore, very happy that the IMF has decided to finalize the next round of quota changes by October 2017.”

The Prime Minister said the quota reforms implemented in January reflects the emerging economies’ greater weight in the world economy.

“This will give them (emerging economies) more say in collective decisions in the IMF,” he said while hailing IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde’s role in persuading all members to ratify the decisions taken in 2010.

Hoping that IMF would be able to build on this success, Modi said: “Reform of global institutions has to be an ongoing process. It must reflect changes in the global economy, and the rising share of emerging economies.”