India recalls IMF nominee days before it considers $1.3 bn loan to Pakistan

In a sudden move, the government has abruptly dismissed Krishnamurthy Subramanian from the IMF board, six months before his term was set to end.

The decision comes just days before a critical IMF board meeting to approve a new $1.3 billion climate resilience loan to Pakistan.

The government has increased pressure on international institutions, particularly the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, to halt the flow of financial assistance to Pakistan.

According to government sources, the decision to remove Subramanian from the IMF board followed his questioning of IMF statistics, the latest incident in his feud with the multinational institution. Furthermore, the Indian School of Business professor faces claims of misconduct in promoting his recent book, India @100: Envisioning Tomorrow’s Economic Powerhouse.

The government has yet to select a replacement, although finance secretary Ajay Seth, who retires at the end of June, is viewed as a candidate for the position.

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Subramanian, who began his post in November 2022, was awarded a three-year tenure. The government nominates an executive director for India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka—a position that is now vacant, according to the IMF website. The listed alternate director is Harischandra Pahath Kumbure Gedara.

Subramanian, who chose to resign as chief economic adviser in 2021 at the end of his three-year tenure and return to academia, has previously made remarks of which the IMF disapproved. However, eleven months later, he relocated to Washington to assume the role of executive director at the IMF.