From one of India's senior Civil Servants, a brilliant analysis of the critical moments in India's economic history and the future of multilateralism in the International Monetary Fund that could decide the future of global crisis resolution. V. Srinivas – distinguished Additional Secretary to Government of India, former Advisor to the Executive Director International Monetary Fund and Private Secretary to Finance Minister of India, a widely acclaimed administrator and academician – provides a comprehensive analysis of several big events that stand out in India's relations with the International Monetary Fund based on 17 months of research and interviews. India's Relations with the International Monetary Fund 1991-2016 provides insights into India's role as a Founding Member of the IMF, India's IMF programs of 1966, 1981 and 1991, India's gold purchases from the IMF in 2010, the rise of G20 and India's emergence as the fastest growing major economy in the world. V. Srinivas highlights the role of the IMF as the lender of last resort, the IMF as an institution of asymmetric power in dealing with member countries, the enhanced role of the IMF post-2008 Global Financial Crisis and the Rise of China in the International Monetary System. “India's relations with International Monetary Fund 1991-2016: 25 years in perspective” is the first comprehensive study on the subject that offers deep insights into an Institution that has influenced the global economy in a significant way.

Discusses India's activities as a member of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Provides access to statistics, press releases, statements by IMF officials, and reports. Notes that the IMF is an international organization of member countries, established to promote international monetary cooperation.

This paper examines rising asset prices in India. For the most part, asset prices in India reflect structural factors but the risk of a correction cannot be ruled out. However, at this juncture monetary policy may not be the most effective tool to safeguard financial stability because (i) India's economy is undergoing rapid structural change making it difficult to identify price misalignments; (ii) the macroeconomic impact of an asset price correction is likely to be small; and (iii) the relationship between monetary policy and asset prices is also weak. Targeted changes in financial regulations are better tools to address potential risks.

This paper presents a study on economic development with stability in India. While the Five-Year Plan occupies the central position as the means through which the Government of India proposes to deal with the basic economic problem, it must be implemented by many specific economic and social measures. It is of the utmost importance that the measures taken in various fields should not only contribute to the fulfilment of the Five-Year Plan but that they should form part of a consistent economic and social policy. Apart from the change in total foreign investment, the composition of foreign investment in India now includes a larger proportion of direct and a smaller proportion of fixed interest obligations than before the war. While India's official sterling debt has been practically wiped out, the Government of India has incurred new obligations in dollars. If India could meet its pre-war obligations on foreign investment without any great strain on its balance of payments, it should be able to meet future obligations, resulting from any new debts, provided its balance of payments position in the future is not materially worse than in the past.

This paper reviews key findings of the IMF’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended June 1947. The report highlights that in the two years since the end of the Second World War, considerable progress has been made toward rebuilding the economies of the devastated and disrupted countries, although the work is far from complete. A number of countries in Europe have succeeded in approaching or even exceeding the pre-war levels of industrial production, but in others, output still lags far behind.

The paper examines the association and corporate behavior for a sample of manufacturing firms in India for the post-reform period 1992-2003. The findings suggest that a contractionary monetary policy lowers overall debt including bank debt, although the lagged response is positive, and listed firms increase their short-term bank borrowings, after monetary tightening. The responses of corporates to a monetary contraction in the post-1997 period has been more pronounced. A disaggregated analysis of responses of firms according to size and leverage largely validates these findings. Two policy implications emerge from the analysis. First, the interest rate transmission channel has strengthened since 1998, and, second, corporates in India, especially listed ones, seem to exhibit relationship lending.

In the past few years, India has emerged as a global economic power. It is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, the leading outsourcing destination, and a favorite of international investors. But even with India’s impressive recent achievements, the country continues to face considerable challenges as it seeks to sustain rapid growth and extend the benefits to all its citizens. Is India entering into a "Golden Age" or experiencing a period of rapid but ultimately unsustainable growth? The studies in this book examine in detail what lies behind India’s recent economic rise and considers the steps needed to build on this success over the medium term.

This book describes the history of the IMF from its birth, through the Bretton Woods era, and in the aftermath. Special attention is paid to integrating IMF history with the macro-economic policies of member countries and of other international institutions as well. This collection of work presents a clear understanding, inter alia, of the influence of the United States over IMF policy via the National Advisory Committee; the dealings of the IMF with the UK on pound sterling policy; the institutional change of the IMF brought about by Per Jacobsson, the third managing director; and France, Italy, Germany, Canada, and Japan vis-à-vis IMF consultations. It also provides the reader with topics concerning the bankers’ acceptance market function and international liquidity issues in relation to IMF policy; the final chapter sheds light on the long-standing relations between the IMF and China, from the Bretton Woods Agreement to the contemporary period. All the chapters are archive-based academic studies providing deep insights with historical background, which makes this book the first thoroughly independent achievement in the field of IMF history. This book is highly recommended to readers interested in contemporary monetary and financial history and those who seek to obtain a coherent image of postwar international institutions and markets.

This paper traces the story of Indian financial sector over the period 1950–2015. In identifying the trends and turns of Indian financial sector, the paper adopts a three period classification viz., (a) the 1950s and 1960s, which exhibited some elements of instability associated with laissez faire but underdeveloped banking; (b) the 1970s and 1980s that experienced the process of financial development across the country under government auspices, accompanied by a degree of financial repression; and (c) the period since the 1990s till date, that has been characterized by gradual and calibrated financial deepening and liberalization. Focusing more the third period, the paper argues that as a consequence of successive reforms over the past 25 years, there has been significant progress in making interest and exchange rates largely market determined, though the exchange rate regime remains one of managed float, and some interest rates remain administered. Considerable competition has been introduced in the banking sector through new private sector banks, but public sector banks continue have a dominant share in the market. Contractual savings systems have been improved, but pension funds in India are still in their infancy. Similarly, despite the introduction of new private sector insurance companies coverage of insurance can expand much further, which would also provide greater depth to the financial markets. The extent of development along all the segments of the financial market has not been uniform. While the equity market is quite developed, activities in the private debt market are predominantly confined to private placement form and continue to be limited to the bluechip companies. Going forward, the future areas for development in the Indian financial sector would include further reduction of public ownership in banks and insurance companies, expansion of the contractual savings system through more rapid expansion of the insurance and pension systems, greater spread of mutual funds, and development of institutional investors. It is only then that both the equity and debt markets will display greater breadth as well as depth, along with greater domestic liquidity. At the same time, while reforming the financial sector, the Indian authorities had to constantly keep the issues of equity and efficiency in mind.

KEY ISSUES Setting: The seeds of good governance and prudent macroeconomic and natural resources management planted by the Botswana authorities paid off with an impressive increase in the GDP per capita during the last three decades. However, as in many other small middle-income countries (SMICs) in the region, trend growth has softened in recent years, reflecting the decline in the contribution of total factor productivity (TFP) to growth which calls for policies to reduce structural bottlenecks in the economy. Current conditions and outlook: Botswana’s economy remains broadly internally and externally balanced and the authorities’ near-term macroeconomic policy mix is appropriate. Output growth is expected to slowdown in 2014 reflecting partly weaknesses in the non-mineral sector, while inflation is expected to remain within the Bank of Botswana’s (BoB) medium-term objective range of 3-6 percent. Fiscal policy: Staff supports the FY2014/15 budget, which reins in unproductive current spending, while protecting growth-promoting capital spending. Achieving medium-term fiscal consolidation objectives adopted in the budget, would require articulating concrete measures to reduce the wage bill relative to GDP and broaden the revenue base. Financial sector development: Botswana’s banking system is well-capitalized and profitable with relatively low nonperforming loans. Although from a low base, credit growth to households continues to expand at a high rate, which poses potential vulnerabilities for the financial sector. Thus, staff recommends that macro prudential measures be considered to temper the rate of growth of household borrowing. In this context, staff welcomes the government’s emphasis on enhancing greater financial deepening and inclusion, while preserving the stability of the financial system. Reinvigorating growth: Returning to an era of strong growth and accelerating Botswana’s convergence to higher income levels would require policies to reinvigorate TFP growth. These include improving the quality of public spending, notably in public investment projects and education to ensure the transformation of diamond wealth into sustainable assets. The authorities’ efforts to improve the country’s competitiveness, including through reducing the regulatory burden on firms, is also welcomed. Past advice: There is broad agreement between the Fund and the authorities on the macroeconomic policy stance and structural reform policy priorities. Consistent with staff’s advice, the FY 2014/15 budget outlined a framework to reduce the burden of loss- making state-owned enterprises on fiscal resources and propel them toward commercial viability. Furthermore, the budget includes medium-term projections of government accounts, as recommended by staff during past consultations. However, progress towards reducing the wage bill relative to GDP remains modest.