Quota formula of IMF flawed: India

India on Wednesday opposed the proposed restructuring of quotas in IMF as it was based on a "flawed" formula.

Exhorting developing nations to unitedly seek greater say in the International Monetary Fund at its annual meeting in Singapore next week, India on Wednesday opposed the proposed restructuring of quotas in IMF as it was based on a "flawed" formula.

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India has always held that the developing world deserves to have much greater "voice" in the management of international financial institutions, Finance Minister P Chidambaram said in Colombo.

Addressing a meeting of the finance ministers of commonwealth nations, he said, "It is widely believed that the present quota formula of the IMF is hopelessly flawed. Obviously an ad-hoc quota redistribution based on this flawed formula cannot provide a durable solution."

Many countries, including India, find the present quota structure as skewed in favour of US and Europe. The IMF meeting, slated for September 19-20, will take up the issue of ad-hoc increase of quota of China, Korea, Mexico and Turkey.

A member's quota delineates basic aspects of its financial and organisational relationship with the IMF, including voting powers and access to finance.

Chidambaram said participation in the management of both IMF and World Bank has to undergo a change to reflect the current global realities more accurately.

"This is something, all developing economies strongly endorse, and I urge you to join me in Singapore to articulate our united view on this matter," the Finance Minister said.

Chidambaram said the relevance of IMF and the World Bank would eventually be determined by their ability to play a meaningful role in meeting the increasing aspirations of the vast majority of the people for freedom from hunger and for the bare necessities of health and education.