NEW DELHI: Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday said that India’s push for reforming multilateral development banks has found support from several countries, as well as global agencies, which are moving ahead with implementing measures to be “bigger, bolder and more effective”.
“There is significant momentum on this agenda now,” she told reporters after the virtual meeting of G20 leaders.
She listed how not just agencies such as the World Bank, African Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank were moving but also noted that the US and Germany were moving towards providing more funds so that the MDBs could not just pursue their basic goal of lowering poverty, but also meet the bigger mandate of helping developing and emerging market economies combat the risk of climate change.
Sitharaman said that the crypto asset framework was ready and it was for countries to implement them so that the developing and emerging markets could handle risks associated with the instrument. “It is not just for the G20 countries but will extend to nearly 100 member nations of the Financial Stability Board,” she said, adding that IMF, FSB and FATF will work together to put in place an effective mechanism. Further clarity is expected to emerge during Brazil’s presidency, she said.
“Before the Indian presidency, the global policy discourse on crypto assets was mainly related to financial stability concerns. However, the Indian presidency recognised that the risks associated with crypto assets vary significantly across economies. Developing countries confront more severe risks and consequences compared to their advanced counterparts,” Sitharaman said.
The FM also said that India’s focus on digital public interface was emphasised by G20 leaders and added that the government has signed seven MoUs with talks in advanced stages with other countries to for cross-border acceptance of UPI, as is the case in Singapore and the UAE.
Government sources said that Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Papua New Guinea, Tanzania and Trinidad & Tobago were among countries with which MoUs had been signed.
Asked about the Social Impact Fund, proposed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, officials said that greater clarity will emerge in the next few days.
