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.
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.
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