Govt terminates services of IMF ED K V Subramanian 6 months ahead of tenure

NEW DELHI: The government has unexpectedly terminated the services of Krishnamurthy V Subramanian as executive director, India, at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), cutting short his term by about six months.

The termination, approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, came into effect immediately, according to an order dated April 30 by the Department of Personnel and Training.

The government didn’t cite any reason for the decision.


Critical of IMF Data
Subramanian took over his role at the IMF in November 2022 for three years. Before that, he was India’s chief economic adviser for three years until October 2021.

During his tenure at the IMF, Subramanian had been critical of IMF data for underestimating India’s growth, posting on X in April last year that “IMF staff ’s error margins are HUGE”. The termination comes ahead of the IMF board reviewing lending to Pakistan as well as a new credit line for climate resilience efforts. New Delhi is likely to oppose the loan in the backdrop of the recent terror attack that killed 26.

IMF assistance is crucial to Pakistan, which has seen severe economic stress in recent years. It secured a $7-billion IMF bailout programme last year and a new $1.3-billion climate resilience loan in March.