India has considerably enhanced its global stature during 2023. The World has recognized and acknowledged its leadership in climate action, innovation and technology
The year 2023 is etched in the annals of world history, with India’s space story, the G20 Presidency, an economy that continues to grow despite the global headwinds and commitment towards sustainability. It is not an easy task to create a prominent space in geopolitics. Yet the efforts taken by India’s policymakers have been the catalyst for its leadership on the global stage.
Space
On August 23, 2023, Chandrayaan-3 lander Vikram successfully soft-landed on the Moon. Subsequently, the rover, Pragyan, ramped down on the lunar surface. Over the next few days, the onboard payloads conducted several experiments, such as measuring nearsurface plasma content, the presence of mineral elements, the temperature profile of the lunar topsoil, etc.
India successfully reached the Moon, spending just ₹ 615 crore. India is the first country to reach the Moon’s south pole. It was a historic achievement. One of the most significant takeaways from India’s space journey with Chandrayaan 3 is the importance of self-reliance. While India’s initial missions leaned on international partnerships, Chandrayaan-3 was a step towards self-sufficiency. It marked the first time any nation had landed in this uncharted region, opening up new possibilities for lunar exploration and scientific discovery.
During 2023, India’s space agency, India Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has ensured that, based on its strong foundation, it can reach new frontiers in space. It became the first nation to land on the Moon’s south pole with Chandrayaan-3 and launched its first dedicated sun-observing spacecraft, Aditya L1. These groundbreaking feats further solidified India’s position as the 5th country with complete space research and development capabilities. The SUIT payload captures full-disk images of the Sun in near-ultraviolet wavelengths. The images include the first-ever full-disk representations of the Sun in wavelengths ranging from 200 to 400 nm. They provide pioneering insights into the intricate details of the Sun’s photosphere and chromosphere.
On June 21, 2023, India officially joined the Artemis Accords, becoming the 27th nation. India’s participation in the Artemis Accords marks a new chapter in its space exploration journey. This global space program aims to establish a sustainable and peaceful lunar exploration and development framework. India has joined joint research, resource sharing, and technology exchange efforts with global partners like NASA, JAXA, and ESA.
The Indian Space Policy-2023 was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security and released in the public domain. The Policy underwent extensive deliberations with industry groups and inter-ministerial consultations. ISRO demonstrated the Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX) on April 2, 2023, at the Aeronautical Test Range (ATR),
Chitradurga, Karnataka. Theautonomous landing was carried out under the exact conditions of a Space Re-entry vehicle’s landing: “high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path” as if the vehicle arrived from space. Landing parameters such as Ground relative velocity, the sink rate of Landing Gears, and precise body rates, as might be experienced by an orbital re-entry space vehicle in its return path, were achieved.
The RLV LEX demanded several state-of-the-art technologies, including accurate Navigation hardware and software, a Pseudolite system, a Ka-band Radar Altimeter, a NavIC receiver, indigenous Landing Gear, Aerofoil honey-comb fins and a brake parachute system.
G-20
India’s G20 Presidency has been inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented, where the developmental concerns of the Global South have been actively voiced. Through the theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth. One Family. One Future”, the Indian G20 Presidency aimed to ensure that the G20 deliberations 2023 were people-centric and action-oriented.
The 200-plus meetings in 60 cities represented an unprecedented footprint for G20 events. As a result, the Indian G20 Presidency was truly people-centric and emerged as a national endeavour. The outcomes of the Summit were transformational and would contribute to the reshaping of the global order in the decades ahead. In particular, the focus on realizing Sustainable Development Goals, reforming international financial institutions, establishing digital public infrastructure, promoting a green development pact and encouraging women-led development was noteworthy.
At a time when East-West polarisation was strong and the North- South divide deep, India’s G20 Presidency created a crucial consensus on the most important issues of the day. Holding the ‘Voice of the Global South’ Summit was a unique aspect of India’s Presidency. It is a matter of particular satisfaction that India’s initiative led to the African Union being accepted as a permanent member of the G20.
The energizing of the international economy, availability of greater resources for development, expansion of tourism, global workplace opportunities, stronger food security through millet production and consumption and a deeper commitment to bio-fuels are among the prominent outcomes of the G20 Summit that will benefit the nation and the World. The conclusion of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor Agreement and the Global Biofuels Alliance during the Summit were also developments of considerable significance.
The New Delhi G20 Summit set a new human-centric and inclusive development path. The Summit provided an occasion to demonstrate India’s contemporary technological advancement, heritage, culture, and traditions. Leaders and delegates of G20 member-states widely appreciated this. United States President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., lauded India’s G20 Presidency for further demonstrating how the G20 as a forum is delivering important outcomes. The global leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the G20. They expressed confidence that the outcomes of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi will advance the shared goals of accelerating sustainable development, bolstering multilateral cooperation, and building global consensus around inclusive economic policies to address our greatest common challenges, including fundamentally reshaping and scaling up multilateral development banks.
Prime Minister Modi and President Biden reaffirmed the importance of the Quad in supporting a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific. Continuing to share the view that global governance must be more inclusive and representative, President Biden reaffirmed his support for a reformed UN Security Council with India as a permanent member and, in this context, welcomed once again India’s candidature for the UNSC nonpermanent seat in 2028-29.
The World recognizes India’s Economic Growth.
The Year 2023 marks India’s continued progress to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the World. The country’s second-quarter growth, 7.6 per cent, has been the highest in the World, and India’s GDP growth for the April-June quarter was 7.8 per cent. Putting into effect the roadmap for making India a $5 trillion economy, the Government continues to focus on growth at the macro level and complementing it with all-inclusive welfare at the micro level, promoting digital economy and fintech, technologyenabled development, energy transition and climate action and relying on a virtuous cycle of investment and growth.
The Government has also focused on a capex-led growth strategy to support economic growth and attract investment from the private sector, substantially increasing its capital investment outlay during the last three years. Central Government’s capital expenditure increased from 2.15 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to 2.7 per cent in 2022-23. To fuel such achievements, the Government has worked tirelessly to shoulder several bold and important socio-economic reforms. The Government has undertaken its reform drive with the spirit of inclusiveness of the marginalized and hitherto socioeconomically neglected classes in the overall development process.
The success of the Government’s policies is further reaffirmed and underscored when International Organisations like the World Bank and IMF recognize India as the fastestgrowing Emerging Market Economy (EME) in the World and applaud the resilient and stable growth India continues to witness. In 2023, has demonstrated a proactive and inclusive approach, contributing significantly to sustainable finance, climate action, infrastructure development, and financial sector reforms on national and international fronts.
During 2023, India focused on financial solutions, policies, and incentives to encourage greater private flows to rapidly develop, demonstrate, and deploy green and low-carbon technologies. Finance from all sources has not yet achieved the scale to address the climate goals established by countries, especially flows directed to developing countries. The availability of adequate, credible, predictable, new, and additional climate finance for developing countries is key to developing countries’ successful implementation of climate actions under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement (The Standing Committee on Finance, a body under the UNFCCC, has estimated that resources in the range of US$ 5.8 trillion to US$ 11.5 trillion are required till 2030 to meet the targets set by developing countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions and other communications).
Additionally, to accelerate debt restructuring efforts, the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR), a joint initiative of the IMF, World Bank, and the Indian G20 Presidency, was launched in 2023 to strengthen communication and foster a common understanding among key stakeholders, both within and outside the Common Framework, for facilitating effective debt treatments. The Brazilian Presidency is expected to continue with the ongoing momentum on the debt agenda.
Climate Change
India has been at the forefront of supporting action-oriented steps at the global level in response to climate change. India has called on the global community to join Mission LiFE – Lifestyle for Environment, which exemplifies India’s action-oriented approach. Furthering the ideals of Mission LiFE, India launched the Green Credit Initiative at COP28 on 1st December 2023 to create a participatory global platform for exchanging innovative environmental programs and instruments. Earlier in 2023, India was instrumental in the historic adoption of the Green Development Pact by the G20 nations as part of the New Delhi Declaration. India is one of the few countries that have delivered on its climate action commitments and increasing use of renewable energy going forward. India is also making all efforts towards collective action and building partnerships in the spirit of SDG17 to strengthen climate action. India’s contribution to climate action has been significant through its international efforts such as the International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), creation of LeadIT, Infrastructure for Resilient Island States (IRIS) and the Big Cat Alliance.
The Global Biofuel Alliance, launched when the G20 leaders met in New Delhi in 2023, seeks to serve as a catalytic platform fostering global collaboration for advancing and adopting biofuels. India has always emphasized that climate change is a global collective action problem and requires international cooperation for its solution. India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), its Kyoto Protocol (KP), and the Paris Agreement (PA). India is also a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Reports from various sources, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), highlight that the challenges faced due to global warming are mainly due to cumulative historical and current greenhouse gas emissions of the developed countries. India will continue to engage on a wide range of issues ranging from political, socio-economic and cultural issues, terrorism, peacekeeping, human rights, and legal matters to budgetary problems. India shall continue to project its longstanding and growing credentials as a leading South-South development partner, especially in the context of the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, Financing for Development and its leadership on climate change, including through the Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) movement, the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)]. India arrived on the world stage in a big way in 2023 and is all set to shape global technological, cultural, and economic trends. The World cannot ignore India. The country knows this is a big responsibility. The people of India will vote this year for a leadership that will further enhance the country’s stature.