Special Drawing Rights:
SDRs are entitlement granted to member countries enabling them to draw from the IMF apart from their quota. It is similar to a bank granting a credit limit to the customer. When SDRs are allocated, the country's Special Drawing Account with the IMF is credited with the amount of the allotment.
SDR is not a currency. It is merely an asset created out of book entries. As such it is an independent reserve asset. The volume of SDRs can be increased or decreased according to the reserve needs of the international liquidity. Initially, the value of one SDR was equal to a specific quantity of gold (which equalled the value of 1 US Dollar) and provided with an absolute gold value guarantee. That is why SDRs were popularly known as ‘Paper Gold'. Later, the value of SDR was linked to a basket of five currencies. The basket is reviewed every five years. It currently, consists of the Euro, the Yen, the Pound sterling and the US Dollor. When a member country utilises SDRs in holding would be less than the allocation. SDRs can be used directly among the members. A country may swap SDRs with another country to acquire a currency it desires. SDRs may be utilised to pay charges to IMF. SDR may be utilised to pay charges to IMF. SDR has gained importance both as a reserve asset and as a Unit of settlement of international transactions. Some international banks time deposits designated in SDR. Some countries have pegged their currencies to SDR.