India yet to decide its support on IMF candidate

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India is still to arrive at a decision regarding its choice for next managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

"There are two candidates left. I am in touch with some of my counterparts and our executive director is in constant touch with executive directors of different countries. We will announce our decision at an appropriate time," he said on the sidelines of an Assocham event on Friday.

The two candidates in the fray are French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexican central bank Governor Agustin Carstens. Both the candidates visited India last week to seek support for their candidacy. Backed by Europe, Lagarde has emerged as the front-runner for the top IMF post.

The new IMF chief is to be elected before June 30. India has a voting quota of 2.34% in the IMF, which has 187 countries as members. The US is the largest shareholder in the multilateral lending agency, with a 16.8 % quota.