Ministry of Finance

Posted On: 14 OCT 2018 5:39PM by PIB Delhi

In his intervention during the IMFC Plenary Session in Bali yesterday, Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance stated that technological expansion including FinTech is inevitable and has reached all parts of the globe. However, what is not inevitable is protectionism, trade tensions and tightening of financial conditions. In the context of these challenges, he said that the time for building buffer and policy action by the Emerging Market Economies (EMDs) is not there. Shri Garg said that a suitable approach could be the association of the IMF, being at the centre of the GFSN, at an earlier stage rather than when crisis has already occurred. Hence, the strengthening of this Multilateral Institution is crucial, he added. On the 15th General Review of Quotas, Shri Garg mentioned that this Agenda of the IMF is urgent as there is a deadline fixed for its conclusion next year. Both enhancement in the Quantum of Quota Resources and Realignment of Voting Shares should take place so that Quota Shares of EMDCs increase in line with its growing relative economic position in the world. Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance attended the IMFC Restricted Breakfast and IMFC Plenary Sessions yesterday in the ongoing Annual Meetings 2018 of the IMF and World Bank being held in Bali, Indonesia this year.

Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, DEA later participated in the 98th Meeting of the Development Committee Plenary. The items on the Agenda included the Human Capital Project:

A Project for the World; Disruptive Technologies and the World Bank Group – Creating Opportunities - Mitigating Risks; The Bali Fintech Agenda; and Debt Vulnerabilities in Emerging and Low-Income Economies. In his intervention at this Session, Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) mentioned that India had supported the capital increase of the World Bank Group with the expectation that it will deliver on its core development responsibilities articulated in the Forward Look, and expects that the additional capital would be put to work expeditiously and leveraged to enhance IBRD lending volumes and IFC investments. He mentioned that digital technologies are transforming the very system of production of goods and services and their distribution. These technologies are in the process of changing the nature of the work and nature of ‘jobs’ as one knows. Shri Garg welcomed the emphasis placed by the World Bank on building human capital but said that he is not so certain about the Human Capital Index, in its current form. He stated that it has severe flaws and therefore will not succeed in focusing the attention of the world on building the right kind of human capital which new technologies will need. Shri Garg mentioned that India has welcomed the Bali FinTech Agenda and that India has extensively used digital technologies to build FinTech, most prominently in the payment space. He said that the Aadhaar system is global scale and is serving India very well in advancing the FinTech agenda. In the context of debt build-up in Low Income Countries, which Shri Garg mentioned as worrisome, harnessing FinTech could also be one way to build fiscal efficiencies, better debt reporting and debt management, Shri Garg added.

Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance during the day also addressed investors from many countries in a Session titled, “India: Responding to External Shocks”, organized by JP Morgan. He also took time-out to have Bilateral Meetings, one with Executive Managing Director of JBIC, Mr. Kazuhiko Amakawa, and another with Mr. Matthew Rycroft, who is the Permanent Secretary for DFID, UK.

Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) is currently on an official tour to Bali, Indonesia to participate in the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank and other associated Sidelines Meetings. He is accompanied by the senior officials of the Ministry of Finance among others.

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DSM/RM/KA

Strengthening multilateral financial institutions to realign quota shares and enhance preventive IMF engagement for emerging economies. Calls for increasing quota resources and realigning IMF voting shares so Emerging Market and Developing Countries secure quota positions reflecting their economic weight, and for earlier IMF engagement within the Global Financial Safety Net. Endorses the Bali FinTech Agenda, cites India's use of digital payments and a national digital identity to advance FinTech, and recommends leveraging digital technologies to improve fiscal efficiencies, debt reporting and debt management while noting concerns about the present Human Capital Index.