Krishnamurthy Subramanian exits IMF board with six months left in his term

India’s Executive Director to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Krishnamurthy Subramanian, has exited his post with six months remaining in his three-year term. Subramanian was nominated to the position by the government in August 2022 and began serving as IMF Executive Director (ED) from November 1, 2022.

As per the IMF’s official website, his name was listed as ED until May 2. From May 3, the position of Executive Director for the constituency representing India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka has been marked as “vacant.” 

Subramanian previously served as India’s Chief Economic Adviser between 2018 and 2021 before being appointed to the IMF role. The Executive Board of the IMF is composed of 24 Executive Directors, elected either by member countries or by groups of countries, along with the Managing Director who serves as its Chair. The Board meets regularly to oversee the IMF’s daily operations and policy decisions.

Subramanian’s exit comes ahead of the IMF’s Executive Board meeting scheduled for May 9, which will review funding arrangements for Pakistan. India is expected to oppose further financial support to Pakistan during the meeting, citing concerns related to terror financing.

On May 2, Subramanian was reportedly slated to speak at a conference titled Investing Opportunities in India, organised by DoorDarshi Advisors in Omaha, Nebraska. The organisers later posted on social media that he would no longer attend the event due to an exigency.

Subramanian’s predecessor, economist Surjit Bhalla, had served as India’s IMF Executive Director from November 2019 and was re-elected in 2020 for an additional two-year term.