Washington: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday lauded the deployment of a cash transfer scheme in India and described it as a “logistical miracle” given the country’s sheer size.
Addressing a Financial Monitor press briefing, Paolo Mauro, deputy director of the IMF’s Department of Financial Affairs, said the global lender has many examples of how companies deploy cash transfers and “there is much to learn” from India.
The top IMF official made the remarks on the sidelines of the annual meetings of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group (WBG). “There’s a lot to learn from India. There’s a lot to learn from some of the other examples around the world,” Mauro said. “We have a lot more examples from every continent and every level of income. If I look at the case of India, it’s actually quite impressive,” he said.
Underlining the country’s sheer size, the top IMF official said it was a “logistical miracle” how these programs attempt to help low-income people, reaching literally hundreds of millions. “There are programs that specifically target women. There are programs that target the elderly, farmers,” he said in response to a question on India’s cash transfer schemes. He also pointed to the success of technological innovations. Use of Unique Identification System, Aadhaar in making the cash transfer scheme a success.
Vitor Gaspar, Director of the IMF’s Department of Financial Affairs, said, “We are collaborating with India in that context as one of the most inspiring examples of the application of technology to solve the very complex issues of targeted support The one who needs it the most.” This appreciation for India’s cash transfer scheme comes as the country maintains its position as the fastest growing major economy in the world.
In its latest World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said, “The outlook for India is for growth at 6.8 per cent in 2022, a decline of 0.6 percentage points since its July forecast, reflecting weaker-than-expected results in the second quarter. April-June) and more subdued external demand.” In its July 2022 report, the IMF had pegged India’s GDP growth for 2022 at 7.4 per cent. The IMF’s latest estimate on India’s GDP growth is lower than the 7 per cent growth projected by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the financial year 2022-23.