• International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a specialised UN Agency conceived in 1944 at United Nations Bretton Woods Conference.
• India is one of the founding member of the IMF.
• It monitors the economic and financial policies of its member countries.
• It provides policy advice to nations for the promotion of international financial stability and monetary cooperation.
• It also provides financial support to countries hit by crisis or as precautionary financing to help prevent and insure against crisis.

Some important lending facilities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Stand-By Arrangement: for countries’ external financing needs and to support their adjustment policies with short-term financing.
• Flexible Credit Line(FCL): for crisis-prevention and crisis-mitigation lending for countries with very strong policy frameworks.
• Standby Credit Facility: to provide financial assistance to low-income countries (LICs) with short-term BoP needs.
• Extended Credit Facility for countries with protracted BoP problems.
• Precautionary and Liquidity Line: for countries with sound economic fundamentals but with some remaining vulnerabilities that preclude them from using FCL.

Latest News

• The IMF announced that it will provide Sri Lanka a loan of about USD 2.9 billion over a four-year period to help the island nation overcome the unprecedented economic turmoil.

Sources

1. IMF
2. Telegraph India