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S.L.N. Simha Fifty Years of Bretton Woods S.L.N. Simha Fifty Years of Bretton Woods Twins (IMF and World Bank) Institute for Financial Management and Research, Chennai, India, 1996, xxi + 478pp., Rs 450/$25 (paper).
S.L.N. Simha, a former staff member and Alternate Executive Director of the IMF, believes that not enough is known in India about the Bretton Woods twins-the IMF and the World Bank-especially among younger Indians. Since India is, at the same time, the biggest beneficiary of their financial assistance, especially the Bank's, and has both deeply influenced the two institutions and been influenced by them, Simha has used the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the IMF and the World Bank to correct this deficiency. Highlighting Indian participation in the two organizations, he dedicates his book to four Indian officials who had major roles in the founding and early years of both institutions: C.D. Deshmukh, J.V Joshi, B.K. Madan, and PS. Narayan Prasad, legendary names to old-time international monetary and financial officials and perhaps familiar to younger ones as well.
Unlike many other authors who have tended to be critical of the Fund and the Bank, Simha both wants to and does write a volume full of praise for the...