India on Saturday made a strong case for restructuring of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), saying it is not capable enough to deal with the problems of the world following the global financial meltdown.
"Institutions (like IMF) that we have, are not capable to deal with the problem...let us restructure these institutions.
We have got a huge crisis, and the way institutions function needs to be rethought," Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission
Montek Singh Ahluwalia said while speaking at a session at the
World Economic Forum here.
Noting that USD 300 billions had gone out from the developing countries following the financial meltdown, he said, "Global community should put in place an institutional mechanism that will restore this flow."
Stressing that though world did need an IMF (like organisation), he said, "what we are doing is...putting bandages and all kinds of bits and pieces".
Ahluwalia further said several developing countries had accumulated huge foreign exchange reserves, because they thought that IMF was neither adequately equipped nor had sufficient operational flexibility to deal with the global financial problem.
Replying to a question that there were more than 180 countries in the world and even G-20 did not include all of them, Ahluwalia said, "In any institution, we should have best governance and be as inclusive as is consistent with functional efficiency."
G-20, a club of select developed and developing nations, will meet in April in London to discuss the global financial problems and firm up measures to neutralise the impact of the crisis.
Pointing out that protectionism was a serious threat, Ahluwalia said, the directions being given by developed countries to their banks for focusing on domestic market, "is completely wrong".
He further said if a clear signal was given to banks in developed countries to support revival of the global economy, "that would make a huge difference".