G20 | Larry Summers-NK Singh report on World Bank, IMF reform to be made public on July 18: Ajay Seth

Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth and Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran addressed the media on July 13 before the G20 meetings begin.

The first volume of the report by the Larry Summers and NK Singh-led group on strengthening multilateral development banks will be made public on July 18, Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth has said.

Speaking to reporters on July 13 in Gandhinagar, Seth said the first volume of the report will be presented to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors next week in their third meeting under India's Presidency.

The two-day meeting, which will be jointly led by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das, will take place from July 17-18. In the run-up to that meeting, a meeting of G20 finance and central bank deputies will be held on July 14-15, co-chaired by Seth and RBI Deputy Governor Michael Patra.

The Summers and Singh-led group was constituted on March 28 after India proposed its formation at the first meeting of the finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru in February. Apart from Summers, a former US treasury secretary, and Singh, chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, the expert group comprises seven other members.

The group has been tasked with drawing up a roadmap for an "updated MDB (multilateral development bank) ecosystem for the 21st century" so that these institutions are better equipped to finance a wide range of sustainable development goals and global challenges such as climate change and health.

India, even before it assumed the presidency of the G20 in late 2022, had repeatedly called for reforming multilateral development banks, saying they faced existential questions.

In the briefing in Gandhinagar on July 13, Chief Economic Adviser V Anantha Nageswaran said a forum such as the G20 provides a platform to discuss issues which cut across national boundaries - such as the reform of these institutions.

"We know that even in this state (of Gujarat), many projects have been funded with the assistance of the World Bank and other institutions. At the same time, we also know that there are issues now which not only require funding for traditional infrastructure but also for climate-related specific infrastructure… So countries need more resources, lenders need more resources, the lenders need to change the way they operate," Nageswaran said.

"Institutions have to reinvent themselves every once in a while," the government's top economist added.

Agenda list

Another key agenda item that will require multilateral cooperation relates to crypto, with the finance ministers and central bank chiefs set to be presented with a 'guidance note' for developing a globally coordinated framework for the regulation and supervision of crypto assets.

Crypto regulation has emerged as one of the key pillars of India's G20 Presidency, with RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das saying in February that the discussions at the Bengaluru meeting had resulted in some G20 members saying that a complete ban on crypto should be considered.

Other key deliverables include progress in the debt treatment for countries under the common framework, recommendations on advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains through digital public infrastructure to achieve last-mile financial inclusion, and principles for financing cities of tomorrow, among others, as per a government statement.

The meeting will also see discussions on the global economy and global health, sustainable finance and infrastructure, international financial architecture, international taxation, and financial sector and financial inclusion.

On the sidelines of the G20 meetings, a series of events involving the delegates will be conducted, including an Infrastructure Investors' Dialogue on leveraging funding and financing mechanisms and approaches for the 'Cities of Tomorrow' in GIFT City in Gandhinagar, a high-level tax symposium on combatting tax evasion, corruption, and money laundering, a roundtable discussion on crypto assets, and workshops on interlinking fast payment systems and achieving growth-friendly climate action and financing for emerging and developing economies.