India's G20 Presidency - A 'Catalyst' for Change​

After receiving the gavel symbolizing the G20 Presidency from Indonesia on November 16, 2022 in Bali, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared: "I want to ensure that India's G20 Presidency will be inclusive, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented."

Mr. Modi affirmed that this is the pride of the Indian people, and pledged to make the G20 a "catalyst" for global change.

With the theme “One Earth, One Family, One Future” for the G20 Presidency, India wants to affirm its efforts to strengthen global connectivity, build on the value of connectivity and find innovative solutions to deal with all challenges.

India's activities during its nearly one-year presidency have contributed to raising the profile of the G20.

Prime Minister Modi candidly admitted that India has taken the helm of the G20 at a difficult time when the world is grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices and the lingering negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, deep divisions over the conflict in Ukraine hinder progress on issues such as food security, debt pressures, food supply chains, energy and global cooperation to combat climate change.

To solve the above difficult problems, India has made great efforts over the past time by convening more than 200 G20 meetings in more than 20 cities across the country.

At each meeting, host country India invites more non-G20 countries to attend to draw attention to the group's agenda and expand the G20's role.

India is committed to expanding the scope and composition of global negotiations, ensuring that all voices are heard and every country has an opportunity to contribute.

The world has appreciated India’s initiatives to promote people-centric globalization during its G20 Presidency, such as the High-Level Principles for a Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy, focusing on the protection of oceans, agreed by the G20 environment and climate ministers at the Chennai summit in August; setting up a Green Hydrogen Innovation Hub will mark the beginning of a global ecosystem for clean and green hydrogen energy.

Over the past year, India has made an effort to demonstrate how technology can be used to narrow inequality.

According to Prime Minister Modi, billions of people around the world still do not have access to banking services or digital identification, which could benefit from Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).

The solutions that India builds on DPI are gaining recognition globally.

From a policy of women's development, India has shifted towards pursuing women-led development.

As the G20 Chair, India is also working to bridge the gender gap in digitalisation, in the workforce and ensure women have a greater role in leadership and decision-making.

Also during India's tenure as G20 Chair, Prime Minister Modi sent a letter to G20 leaders proposing granting full permanent membership to the African Union (AU) with more than 50 member countries at the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10.

The proposal is aimed at implementing India's earlier commitment to give Africa's voice greater weight in international organisations.

The inclusion of the AU would enhance the G20's standing as a multilateral forum.

With the strength of its long-standing relationships with developing countries, India has recently been rapidly strengthening its partnerships with Western countries.

Besides, India also uses the G20 as a platform to lobby for the Global South, and acts as a bridge to convey the needs of the developing world to Western leaders.

India's success at home and abroad makes New Delhi an ideal bridge between the global North and the global South, and makes the South Asian nation a force for peace in a divided world.

Besides the above achievements, India also encountered many difficulties during its tenure as G20 Chair.

Most G20 ministerial meetings in 2023 ended without a joint statement due to disagreements among members over the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

That disagreement occurred even as India used the agreed-upon text of the 2022 Bali Declaration.

However, according to Mr. Derek J. Grossman, senior defense analyst at the Rand Corporation (USA), this is beyond India's control.

In an interview with NDTV, External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar highlighted the growing global concerns saying: “The world today is in a much more worrying situation than it was before. In such a situation, the G20 Presidency should not only be a neutral country but also a country that commands respect.”

Over the past year, India has proven itself worthy of the G20 Presidency in the new context.

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world, an attractive destination for foreign direct investment, exports are growing well, and the mobile manufacturing sector has achieved incredible success.

Not only that, India has also made a name for itself in the space sector as well as leading the world in applying digital technology to governance.

From the world's 10th largest economy, India has risen to become the 5th largest economy in less than a decade.

Many experts believe that India could become the world's third largest economy by 2050, behind only the US and China.

Building on this momentum, India has set an ambitious goal of becoming a developed country by 2047 (the year India celebrates its 100th anniversary of independence) and is making new efforts to cut its dependence on imports and boost domestic production.

Recently, in an interview with PTI news agency, Prime Minister Modi emphasized that India's role as G20 Chair is a testament to the country's growing position in the world.

Once just a giant consumer market, India is now seen as a global nation capable of tackling challenges ranging from pandemics to larger crises facing humanity, according to Mr. Modi.

Meanwhile, according to Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, India's success also enhances its position in leading the G20.

The world now sees India as a place of need for global workforce and talent. India is showing its growing influence and how it can contribute to global discussions.

In the current context, the G20 Summit in India this time is considered unlikely to achieve a breakthrough in healing the countries, but the host country India still hopes to create certain foundations to pull the countries together and work together to solve the remaining problems.