PM to press hard for equal shares in proposed BRICS bank

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will press for equal shareholding for all five BRICS members in the proposed $50 billion BRICS Development Bank as the BRICS Summit of top developing nations gets under way in the Brazilian seaside city of Fortaleza today.

China has been seeking a larger stake in the bank, as it is by far the leading economy of the bloc comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. But India does not want any nation to dominate the bank.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's first multilateral engagement in the Brazilian capital, India will seek equal contribution of $10 billion each by all the five members in the proposed BRICS bank, so that the shareholding pattern is not distorted.

Modi will join Russian President Vladimir Putin, China's president Xi Jinping, South African President Jacob Zuma and the host President Dilma Rousseff in deliberations over the proposed bank, international financial architecture and other issues.

India is keen on equal shareholding in the bank to prevent the kind of distortions that have crept into Bretton Woods institutions like the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, over which rich countries like the US and Japan have a strangle hold.

''In particular, I look forward to the successful conclusion of major BRICS initiatives like the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement, which have seen significant progress since their launch in New Delhi in 2012," Modi had said during his departure from New Delhi.

"I also look forward to our discussions to further advance intra-BRICS economic cooperation and our collective efforts to advance global economic stability and prosperity," the prime minister had said.

"These initiatives will support growth and stability in BRICS and also benefit other developing countries," he said.

Modi will join Putin, Xi, South African President Jacob Zuma and the host President Dilma Rousseff in deliberations over the proposed bank, international financial architecture and other issues at Fortaleza, one of the host cities of the World Cup.

Modi will also discuss the possible outcomes of the two- day summit on other issues like reforms of the UN Security Council and international financial architecture.

The BRICS Development bank, an idea which was conceived in Delhi in 2012 and approved in Durban last year, is to be set up with an initial corpus of $50 billion, with scope for expansion up to $100 billion when new members are added.

The other priority for India is about the presidency of the bank and the name to be given to it. Apparently, India would like it to be called the New Development Bank, an expression used by Modi in his departure statement on Sunday.