The panel – with Harvard University president emeritus Lawrence Summers and 15th Finance Commission chairman N K Singh as co-convenors, and representatives from all continents – has been set up following discussions at the meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in Bengaluru last week.
Listing out the objectives in a statement, the finance ministry said that it has tasked the group to prepare “a road map for an updated MDB ecosystem for the 21st century, with milestones and timelines, touching upon all aspects of MDB evolution, including but not limited to vision, incentive structure, operational approaches and financial capacity so that MDBs are better equipped to finance a wide range of SDGs (sustainable development goals) and trans-boundary challenges such as climate change and health”.
The committee will also look at the funding requirements of member countries and how the multilateral development banks can tap funds from the private and public sector more effectively. In addition, it has been given the mandate to evolve “mechanisms for coordination among MDBs for them to address and finance global development and other challenges more effectively”.
The panel will submit its report by June 30 as India has identified the revamp of MDBs as a key item on its agenda during the G20 presidency. The third meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors of the powerful group is scheduled to be held in Gujarat in July, where the issues flagged by the committee will be taken up.
A senior government official said that the composition of the committee has been done in a way that it meets the geographical, gender and developmental aspects, which was a key point of discussion at the last meeting of G20 FMs and central bank chiefs.