India's representative to the World Bank, Parameswaran Iyer, will vote for India when the country has a vote-casting opportunity in a very important International Monetary Fund (IMF) board meeting on May 9 regarding financial support to Pakistan.
This follows the sudden removal of Krishnamurthy Subramanian from his position at the IMF, even when he had six months left on his term.
A senior government official confirmed that Iyer would represent India at the next meeting, where discussions were likely to centre on the release of a fresh tranche under the IMF's Extended Fund Facility. The $7 billion program is for 37 months and is designed to facilitate Pakistan's economic stabilisation.
The sudden ending of Subramanian's term has created intrigue among policymakers. A government notification dated April 30 signed by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet announced that it had "approved termination of services of Dr Krishnamurthy Subramanian as executive director (India) with immediate effect" but did not give a reason for the action.
After the announcement, IMF's website now indicates the position as being vacant. Harischandra Pahath Kumbure Gedara is listed as the alternate executive director for the India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka constituency.
Subramanian, who previously was India's chief economic adviser between December 2018 and December 2021, declined to comment on Business Standard's requests. He was appointed India's executive director at the IMF in 2022 for three years.
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