Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an interview on Sunday, explained the significance of India’s G20 presidency. He said that by the time India completes its presidency—end of November—and hands over the baton to Brazil, over a lakh delegates would have visited India to experience first-hand India’s democracy, demography and diversity, apart from the “fourth D”—development. He said India as G20 president has catalyzed G20’s shift towards a human-centric approach from a GDP-centric one, where there is greater inclusion, and everyone’s voice is heard. He spoke of how the effort “towards greater inclusion of the Global South, especially Africa in global affairs has gained momentum”. The Prime Minister also sees his “sabka saath sabka vikas” model working for global good, particularly for the Global South, in a post-Covid world order.
In fact, this post-Covid world order is a reality, hobbled as it is by the double blows of Covid and the Ukraine war. According to the United Nations’ “Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022”, crisis after crisis has jeopardized the implementation of the UN’s Agenda for Sustainable Development by 2030. The UN report says that “humanity’s very own survival” is at stake now. “Climate change, and conflicts, are creating spin-off impacts on food and nutrition, health, education, the environment, and peace and security.” Covid-19 alone has killed 15 million people in two years, apart from disrupting essential health services in 92% of countries. As result global life-expectancy has come down. The Russia-Ukraine war has pushed the world towards hunger, with supply chains of 30% of the world’s wheat, 20% of maize and 80% of sunflower seeds, getting disrupted. Be it water, sanitation, health or hygiene, the UN says that to meet the targets by 2030, a four times “increase in the pace of progress” is required. The Prime Minister believes that India has the answer to many of these challenges. India’s solutions are proven, and are working on the ground. For example, the Aspirational Districts programme, where the PM says, houses and villages without electricity were identified and electrified, 10 crore tap water connections were provided. Then there are programmes to provide sanitation, bank accounts, vaccination, the push towards alternate energy, among several others.
In this context, the pace at which India has gone digital, deserves special mention, where the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile coverage has taken “Digital India” right down to the grassroots. One of the main drivers of India’s latest GDP growth of 7.8% in the April-June quarter was digital transaction. Hence, India has a lot to offer to the Global South through its JAM trinity, to ensure development at the grassroots, especially in the impoverished continent of Africa.
One of the highlights of the Prime Minister’s interview was spelling out the actual work that has been happening in G20 under India’s presidency. For example, “at the Development Ministers Meeting, G20 adopted the Action Plan to accelerate progress on SDGs and Lifestyles for Sustainable Development”. The Agricultural Ministerial introduced India’s millet to the global discourse—the environment friendly, healthy superfood that the Indian government is promoting in the country.
Given that economic partnership in times of uncertainty is one of the main goals of G20, the PM said that major emphasis was also placed on “enabling countries” to share their “policy experiences on how they tackle the challenges associated with food and energy price volatility”. In this context, mention must be made of India’s handling of its own economy during the disruption caused by Covid, which can be presented to the world as an example. This included providing a safety net to the underprivileged and industry, as well as initiating major, what economists describe as supply side reforms. India’s approach, say economists, is not about trying and going back to a pre-Covid economic situation, but to recognise that in a post Covid world, things have changed and the world has to be agile enough to take on these changes on its stride and evolve as per the demands of the situation. The world, and not just the Global South, has a lot to learn from India on this.
As the Prime Minister said, “The G20 is certainly one of the institutions that is being looked at with hope by many countries. Because the world is looking for actions and outcomes, no matter where they come from. India’s Presidency of the G-20 has come at such a juncture.”
It is in this context that India’s claim to a permanent seat on the UNSC has to be seen. How can the UN ignore India, the world’s largest democracy, a country that is all set to be the third largest economy in a few years? “A mid-20th century approach cannot serve the world in the 21st century. So, our international institutions need to recognize changing realities, expand their decision-making forums, relook at their priorities and ensure representation of voices that matter,” said the PM.
Hence, India’s G20 presidency is not just about India providing leadership to the Global South but also about showcasing itself as a major international power that has a solution to many of the problems that ail the world. It’s about showcasing India as a force of good.