Recently, which one of the following currencies has been proposed to be added to the basket of IMF's SDR?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (d) Renminbi
On 30 November 2015 the IMF Executive Board, in its five-yearly review of the Special Drawing Right (SDR), decided that China's renminbi met the criteria and would join the SDR basket as its fifth currency from 1 October 2016.
- ✓ (d) The renminbi was declared a 'freely usable' currency and added to the basket alongside the U.S. dollar, euro, Japanese yen and British pound.
- ✗ (c) The Indian rupee has never been in the SDR basket; it is not a fully convertible currency on the capital account.
- ✗ (a) The key question in the 2015 review was whether the renminbi qualified; the Russian rouble and the South African rand are not in the SDR basket.
Remember · SDR basket since 1 Oct 2016: U.S. dollar, euro, Chinese renminbi, Japanese yen, British pound (five currencies). The SDR is the IMF's reserve asset, not a currency.
Sources
- IMF Press Release No. 15/540: IMF's Executive Board Completes Review of SDR Basket, Includes Chinese Renminbi (30 November 2015) ↗ “effective October 1, 2016 the RMB is determined to be a freely usable currency and will be included in the SDR basket as a fifth currency, along with the U.S. dollar, the euro, the Japanese yen and the British pound.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2016, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·