The previous 17 Presidencies of the G20 delivered significant results – ensuring macroeconomic stability, rationalising international taxation, and relieving debt burden on countries, among many other outcomes. India will benefit from these achievements and build further upon them. The challenges are no less than in the past. The leadership will set a new benchmark for India’s role in World.
India in Global System
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the present government has constantly strived to put India on the global map. Its myriad initiatives to strengthen India’s worldwide position have resulted in a powerful strategy for economic cooperation, cultural exchanges and growth in partnership with other countries.
The nature of global relations changed after the Second World War. There is a possibility of a new world order post-Corona. The World has seen and appreciated India’s efforts during Corona. Today the World is looking at India from a new perspective, especially with G20 Presidency. We are constantly providing new opportunities to our hardworking entrepreneurs and encouraging Indian companies to make the country self-reliant in the field of defence.
Today India is moving forward on the subject of climate with great courage and great ambition. India also understands the suffering of all other developing countries. For many developing countries, climate change is looming large over their existence. India is in the process of taking big steps today to save the World.
Modi, in his reply to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, recently said, “The World is moving very fast towards new world order, new systems following the Covid pandemic. India should not miss this opportunity. Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is the perfect time to think about how India can play a global leadership role in the coming years.”
India’s performance during the Covid Pandemic has redefined India amongst world observers as a country that has leveraged technology to build a Resilient Economy, Resilient Government & Resilient Citizenry. India has received the highest ever FDI and created UNICORNS at the rate of over three a month during the year 2021. “India represents today’s tremendous market for the application & use of technology. It represents a country where there is tremendous depth in the innovation ecosystem & a vibrant ecosystem of performing entrepreneurs. Government policy & Government capital is going to catalyse these two elements & create a sustainable ecosystem that will serve the World’s demand & India’s need in the coming decade,” said Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar at a conference held recently.
The Prime Minister recently, at a meeting, recalled that Mahatma Gandhi talked about a zero-carbon many efforts. “India stands ready to support any effort for a better environment and to further global wellness. Our track record speaks for itself,” he said at an event.
G20 Presidency
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation. It plays an important role in shaping and strengthening global architecture and governance o all major international economic issues. India holds the Presidency of the G20 from December 1 2022, to November 30 2023.
The 18th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place on 9th-10th September 2023 in New Delhi. The Summit will culminate all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies. A G20 Leaders’ Declaration will be adopted at the conclusion of the New Delhi Summit, stating Leaders’ commitment towards the priorities discussed and agreed upon during the respective ministerial and working group meetings.
Prime Minister has noted that India’s Presidency of the G20 during the year of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is a matter of pride for every Indian. The G20 meetings have already commenced in India, and we endeavour to organise about 200 of these meetings in 32 different sectors in multiple locations across India. The G20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis as a forum for Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors to discuss global economic and financial issues.
The Group of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United Kingdom and United States) and the European Union. The G20 members represent around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of worldwide trade, and about two-thirds of the world population.
Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, Government of India, recently spoke on the ‘Role of Business in G20’. He highlighted the context in which India has taken over the G20 Presidency, where there are multiple crises facing the World—economic, inflation, geopolitical, energy, global debt, war, and post-COVID impact. “To my mind, every crisis has a huge opportunity, and G20 in the past has demonstrated the ability to deliver in times of adversity,” he said.
Kant said India’s focus would be on highlighting the need to address the climate crisis, progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), global debt, geopolitical tensions and the ensuing food and energy crisis. He pointed out that there will be a renewed push for green development and climate finance, with the concept of Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) woven in. He said the developed World is not living up to the promise of climate finance. It is important to have the flow of resources from multilateral institutions, besides the USD 100 billion funding from the developed countries. Nudging them is a key part of the agenda for the Prime Minister. He reiterated that another key focus area for the Prime Minister is an emphasis on women-led development.
The challenge is to ensure that we break out of the cycle of malnutrition, improving health outcomes, especially for pregnant women and providing greater financial inclusion, said Kant.
Detailing the roadmap for the year, he said, “There will be 215 events in 56 cities of India, so this will also be a massive opportunity for states, cities, to drive business as well as soft power through culture, travel, tourism, and handicrafts.”
He also stressed the importance of the 4Ds—demographics, digitisation, decarbonisation, and de-globalisation. “Most importantly, though, we need to de-monopolise the world, and it is for the Indian businesses to use the opportunity of G20 to do that,” he said.
The inaugural ceremony of India’s civil C20 was held on January 16, 2023, in which Tamil Nadu governor R N Ravi commended Mata Amritanandamayi’s ‘people-oriented service’ globally. She has been appointed as the chair of Civil 20 (C20), an official engagement group of G20.
The governor stated that the selection of Amma to chair the C20 Group was laudable. He further expressed confidence that the Group would come up with recommendations and suggestions that would benefit the G20.
As Chair of India’s Civil 20, Amma inaugurated its working groups. The core committee members and other renowned personalities from around the World participated. According to Ramu Damodaran, Member International Advisory Committee for C20,” The’Civil 20’ or ‘C20’ is one of the ‘engagement groups’ of the G20, which India chairs this year, with the focus on bringing ideas and ambitions of civil society organisations (CSOs) into the discussions and outcome of the collective political processes by the World’s largest economies, accounting for 80 per cent of the gross world product created by two-thirds of the global population.”
What is C20?
Its purpose is to function as a platform for civil society organisations (CSOs) on a global scale and bring forth nongovernment and non-business voices to the #G20 Heads of State. India is the host country for this year’s G20 Summit, which will take place in New Delhi in September. C20 gives CSOs a forum to promote social and economic development with the vision of leaving no one behind. In advance of the Summit, C20 will collaborate with hundreds of CSOs from around the World. A CSO is any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group organised locally, nationally or internationally. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, CSOs perform various services and humanitarian functions, bring citizens’ concerns to Governments, monitor policies, and encourage political participation at the community level.
India’s C20 include Sri M, the Satsang Foundation as Participant; Sudha Murthy, Chair, Infosys Foundation as Participant; Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, as Secretariat; and the Vivek ananda Kendra, Kanyakumari as Institutional Partner.
According to G20 documents posted on the official website, one of the key emphasis of the Indian Presidency in 2023 is to voice the needs and perspectives of the Global South in the G20. Given the fact that till 2025, the Presidency of G20 will be with an emerging market economy (Brazil in 2024 and South Africa in 2025), there is an opportunity to reflect the aspirations of a large number of countries who are not members of the G20 but are considerably affected by the decisions emanating from the forum. Development financing, macroeconomic vulnerabilities and maximising the full potential of digital public infrastructure for achieving inclusive growth are the key tenets on which India’s priorities have been hoisted.
India is a top economy in the World
India has become the fifth largest economy, with a GDP of USD 3.5 trillion in the last 8.5 years. India has joined the ‘Fabulous Five’ economies of the World. According to a recently published article on the global economic outlook by Managing Director of Morgan Stanley Shri Chetan Ahya, India will be the third largest economy after the US and China by 2027. India’s GDP will increase to USD 8.5 trillion in the next ten years. This clearly shows that India has become a centre of hope and confidence for the World.
According to IMF estimation, India would rank 2nd in the G20 with a 6.8% growth in GDP in the year 2022-23. It also estimates that in the year 2023-24, India would rank first in the G20 with a 6.1% growth in GDP. Various rating agencies and think tanks have predicted that India’s growth would accelerate sharply in the next few years under the NDA Government. Banking on the strong fundamentals & reforms being undertaken by the NDA Government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has credited India’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals and mentioned OECD, claiming that India will be among the fastest-growing economies in the G-20 Group this year.
Quoting Morgan Stanley, the Prime Minister said that India is moving towards becoming the World’s third-largest economy in the next 4-5 years. He added that the CEO of McKinsey has declared that the present decade and the century itself belong to India. “Institutions and credible voices that track the global economy have unprecedented confidence in India”, the Prime Minister continued, “Global investors also share the same optimism.” Modi, on many occasions, has highlighted a survey conducted by a prestigious international bank which found that a majority of the investors preferred India as their investment destination. “Today, India is receiving record-breaking FDI. Even your presence among us reflects this sentiment”, the Prime Minister recently stated.
He credited the strong democracy, young demography and political stability of India for the strong optimism that is shown towards the nation and highlighted India’s decisions that boost ease of living and ease of doing business.
He is betting on various schemes to help the Indian economy grow faster, especially manufacturing. He credited the Production linked Incentive schemes where incentives worth more than Rs 2.5 lakh crore have been announced.