Finance Minister noted the pivotal contributions of the Global South to the foundations of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference.
- 1944 Conference led to establishment of World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
Contribution of Global South to MDBs
- Establishment of New Institutions such as New Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank etc.
- With economic growth, Global South Countries like India and China have increased their financial commitments to MDBs.
- Advocacy for Inclusivity and MDB reforms by emphasizing on embedding diverse voices in decision-making processes at MDBs.
Need for MDB Reforms from the perspective of Global South
- Inadequate representation: 59.1% of voting shares in IMF are held by countries representing just 13.7% of world’s population.
- Debt Relief Requirement: Around 79 low-and-middle income countries deemed to be in debt distress.
- Addressing Global Challenges: Issues like climate change, pandemic, supply chain disruptions disproportionately affect global south, requiring additional funding support.
India’s Recommendations for MDBs
- Promote a two-way exchange of innovations, drawing from experiences of Global South in areas like Digital Inclusion and Sustainable Energy while meeting the need of development financing to Global South.
- Adopt a more competitive pricing model to foster broader participation, incentivise middle-income countries to borrow more and deepen development impact.
- Adopt a strictly evidence-based and data-driven approach when preparing global indices such as the Worldwide Governance Indicators and the new B-Ready index.
