IMF, World Bank, BIS, FSB

Story hook

It is 22 July 1944, Mount Washington Hotel, Bretton Woods, New Hampshire. 730 delegates from 44 Allied nations — their war not yet won — gather in the cool New England summer to design the post-war economic order. John Maynard Keynes (UK) and Harry Dexter White (US) lead the negotiation. Out of three weeks of debate emerge the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) — the original "Bretton Woods twins". A third proposed institution — an International Trade Organization (ITO) — would die in the US Congress and be replaced by the GATT 1947 and eventually the WTO 1995.

India was a founding member of both Bretton Woods institutions despite being still under British rule — Sir Jeremy Raisman, Sir Theodore Gregory, Sir Chintaman Deshmukh and Sir R. K. Shanmukham Chetty signed at Bretton Woods. India has been a continuous member ever since, with a 5th-largest quota at the IMF (2.75% of voting power; ranked 8th by quota when adjusted for SDR contributions; pushing for the 16th General Review of Quotas to be concluded in 2025).

Eighty years on, the **family of multilateral economic + social

• humanitarian agencies** has grown to 15 UN specialised agencies + dozens of funds + programmes + treaty bodies, all woven through ECOSOC, regional commissions and the UN System Chief Executives Board. India is a member of every one; hosts the regional office of several; and is one of the largest donors among emerging economies. For UPSC, this cluster is the factual backbone of GS-II "important international institutions" questions + a frequent Prelims set.

Why this matters for UPSC

This is a Prelims-heavy unit — UPSC has asked one or two factual questions per cycle on the family of UN agencies + Bretton Woods + financial-stability bodies for the last decade. Mains GS-II uses them as building blocks for "international institutions" answers. Interview boards probe India's quota / voice deficit at the IMF and World Bank.