India and the International Financial Institutions

If the International Monetary Fund and World Bank did not exist, then the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 may well have given rise to something like them. Though they have undergone many changes since their birth in 1944, their rules reflect the political relationships of the past more than the economic realities of the present. Whether and how India—a historically important actor for both institutions—and other ascendant stakeholders can contribute to a new consensus vision for global economic governance remains to be seen. And given India’s ‘emergence’, how these institutions and India will adapt to each other in the future will be important for all concerned.