Stepping Up, Together: India’s G20 Presidency, For the World

Why in News?

• November 30 marks the completion of one year since India assumed the G20 presidency.
• On this occasion, it is time to reflect, recommit, and rejuvenate the spirit of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam; One Earth, One Family, One Future.

Significant Challenges When India Assumed G20 Presidency

• Multifaceted Global Challenges
  • When India undertook the G20 presidency, the global landscape grappled with multifaceted challenges, including the difficult recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.
  • There were looming climate threats, financial instability, and the distressing debt situation in developing nations.
• Declining Multilateralism: At the time India assumed the G20 presidency, there was a noticeable decline in multilateralism, reflecting a diminishing trend in collaborative international efforts.
• Conflicts and Competition: Conflicts and heightened competition among nations further complicated the global scenario, adding layers of complexity to addressing shared challenges.
• Impaired Development Cooperation: The adverse effects of conflicts and competition revealed in impaired development cooperation, hindering progress on a global scale.

How Did India Navigate These Challenges as the G20 Chair?

• Provided an Alternative to Status Quo: Focus on Human Centric Approach
  • As the G20 chair, India tried to offer the world an alternative to the status quo, a shift from a GDP-centric to human-centric progress.
  • India aimed to remind the world of what unites us, rather than what divides us.
• Focused on Multilateralism
  • With time, the global conversation must evolve, the interests of the few has to give way to the aspirations of the many.
  • This requires a fundamental reform of multilateralism and India took this responsibility as the G20 chair.
• Employed An Inclusive, Ambitious, Action Oriented and Decisive Approach
  • Inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive, these four words defined India’s approach as G20 president.
  • And the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (NDLD), unanimously adopted by all G20 members, is testimony to India’s commitment to deliver on these principles.

Significant Features of India’s G20 Presidency

• Inclusion of African Union as a Full G20 Member
  • Inclusivity has been one of the core principles of India presidency.
  • The inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent member of the G20 integrated 55 African nations into the forum, expanding it to encompass 80 per cent of the global population.
  • This proactive stance has fostered a more comprehensive dialogue on global challenges and opportunities.
• Voice of the Global South Summit
  • The first-of-its-kind Voice of the Global South Summit, convened by India in two editions, indicated a new dawn for multilateralism.
  • India mainstreamed the Global South’s concerns in the international discourse and has ushered in an era where developing countries take their rightful place in shaping the global narrative.
• People’s Presidency and International Attention
  • Inclusivity also featured in India’s domestic approach to G20, making it a People’s Presidency that befits the world’s largest democracy.
  • Through Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) events, the G20 reached 1.4 billion citizens, involving all states and Union Territories (UTs) as partners.
  • And on substantive elements, India ensured that international attention was directed to broader developmental aims, aligning with the G20’s mandate.
• G20 2023 Action Plan on SDGs
  • At the critical midpoint of the 2030 agenda, India delivered the G20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • As G20 chair India emphasised on taking a cross-cutting, action-oriented approach to interconnected issues, including health, education, gender equality and environmental sustainability.
• Recommendations on DPI for Inclusive Growth
  • India was decisive in its recommendations on digital public infrastructure (DPI), after implementing the revolutionary digital innovations like Aadhaar, UPI, and Digilocker first-hand.
  • Through the G20, India successfully completed the Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, a significant stride in global technological collaboration.
  • This repository, featuring over 50 DPIs from 16 countries, will help the Global South build, adopt, and scale DPI to unlock the power of inclusive growth.
• Adoption of Green Development Pact
  • India introduced ambitious and inclusive aims to create urgent, lasting, and equitable change.
  • The Declaration’s Green Development Pact addresses the challenges of choosing between combating hunger and protecting the planet.
    • It outlines a comprehensive roadmap where employment and ecosystems are complimentary, consumption is climate-conscious, and production is planet-friendly.
  • In tandem, the G20 Declaration calls for an ambitious tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
  • Coupled with the establishment of the Global Biofuels Alliance and a concerted push for Green Hydrogen, the G20’s ambitions to build a cleaner, greener world are undeniable.
  • This has always been India’s ethos, and through Lifestyles for Sustainable Development (LiFE), the world can benefit from India’s age-old sustainable traditions.
• Deliberation on Climate Financing
  • The New Delhi Declaration underscores India’s commitment to climate justice and equity, urging substantial financial and technological support from the Global North.
  • For the first time, there was a recognition of the quantum jump needed in the magnitude of development financing, moving from billions to trillions of dollars.
  • The G20 acknowledged that developing countries require $5.9 trillion to fulfil their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030.
• Discussions on Setting Up Effective Multilateral Development Banks
  • Given the monumental resources required for climate financing, the G20 emphasised the importance of better, larger, and more effective Multilateral Development Banks.
  • Concurrently, India is taking a leading role in UN reforms, especially in the restructuring of principal organs like the UN Security Council, that will ensure a more equitable global order.
• Gender Equality Talks and Formation of a Dedicated Working Group
  • Gender equality took centre stage in the Declaration, culminating in the formation of a dedicated Working Group on the Empowerment of Women next year.
  • India’s Women’s Reservation Bill 2023, reserving one-third of India’s Parliament and state legislative assembly seats for women, epitomises India’s commitment to women-led development.
• Deliberations on Geopolitical Issues
  • During India’s G20 presidency, India led deliberations on geopolitical issues and their impact on economic growth and development.
  • Terrorism and the senseless killing of civilians are unacceptable, and the world must address them with a policy of zero tolerance.
  • The world must embody humanitarianism over hostility and reiterate that this is not an era of war.
• Unanimous Adoption of New Delhi Declaration
  • The New Delhi Declaration embodies a renewed spirit of collaboration across these key priorities, focusing on policy coherence, reliable trade, and ambitious climate action.
  • It is remarkable that during India’s presidency, G20 achieved 87 outcomes and 118 adopted documents, a marked rise from the past.

Conclusion

• During India’s presidency, India achieved the extraordinary, it revitalised multilateralism, amplified the voice of the Global South, championed development, and fought for the empowerment of women everywhere.
• After a year India hands over the G20 presidency to Brazil with the conviction that India’s collective steps for people, planet, peace, and prosperity, will resonate for years to come.

Q1) What is the key component of the Green Development Pact?

The key component of the Green Development Pact is the focus on a clean, sustainable, just, affordable, and inclusive energy transition. It tries to bring the energy transition closer to people and the very economies and geographies where large infrastructure will be built for development.

Q2) What is the meaning of green development?

Green development is a real estate development concept that considers social and environmental impacts of development. It is defined by three sub-categories: environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and community and cultural sensitivity.

Source: The Indian Express