G20 Summit | The G21 Transition — here's why it could be India’s BHARAT moment

All good things do come to an end. G20 is no different as far as rotational responsibility of the Chair is concerned. India has done an amazing facelift to the G20 by taking it to the last mile through its universalist, inclusive and human centric approach so beautifully embedded in the Upanishadic theme of ‘Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam’ i.e. One Earth, One Family, One Future.

As PM Modi wrote, in his Oped in Times of India, that during the Indian

Presidency it has translated G20 into a call for human centric progress. He further pontificated that the post pandemic world is very different and there is a growing realisation that a shift away from GDP centric view of the world to a human centric view is needed. This indeed is India’s biggest contribution and attempt to change the global mindset during her Peoples’ Presidency.

Before embarking on this theme for the G20, India had often displayed the genuine concern for the wellbeing of all people through action and propagation of the cause at every fora be it global or regional since the destiny of human kind is umbilically linked. This has been well exposed by the pandemic and the climate change. Lessons must be learnt in time.

India during that trying period rose to the occasion through its ‘Vaccine Maitri’ and other initiatives including waiver of the IPRs on vaccines. Health security, through access of healthcare and digital and other tech platforms and possibly a pandemic treaty, remains a major challenge for the world and hence an important point of discussion and perhaps will be a key outcome for the G20.

Early on India had decided to use G20 platform to mainstream the Voice of the Global South — a congregation of disadvantaged and vulnerable developing countries by seeking their inputs so that the developmental agendas fully reflect their concerns. They have also suffered the most due to the two black swan events of pandemic and the war. G20 can’t just be a club of convenience.

Hence an ambitious, human centric and action oriented approach was adopted by India leaving nothing to chance despite the myopic geopolitical games being played out by the major powers through the tools of unilateralism and isolationism. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that had suffered a great deal due to the pandemic and Russia Ukraine war have been brought back into focus through the G20 Action Plan on Accelerating SDGs and their implementation expeditiously to meet the target timings.

Climate Change is an existential threat which requires global solidarity and purposeful action. PM Modi mentions that there is a need to move away from what should not be done to a more constructive attitude on what can be done to fight the climate change.

Initiatives like Sustainable and Resilient Blue Economy, Bio Fuels alliance, Green Hydrogen initiatives including a centre for the same and democratising climate action will lead to a credible effort to contain the rise of temperatures. India’s LiFE ( Life style for Environment ) mission can help in sustainable development at the grassroot level. Food and fuel security through innovative approaches like Millets —the super food, and resort to renewables will make life better and more predictable.

Technology and Artificial intelligence (AI) are defining our day-to-day lives hence digital public infrastructure, its affordability and availability and regulation acquire greater importance. India has achieved scale of DPI (Digital Public Infrastructure) implementation and can make it as a global public good from CoWIN to ONDC.

Regulation of crypto currency is indeed a challenge so is the tax avoidance and evasion, black money and sheltering of the economic offenders where a concrete action plan could be devised to counter these rampant aberrations undermining the global financial system and credibility.

Early on in her Presidency at the Voice of Global south Summit attended by 125 countries, PM Modi had spoken of the mantra of 4Rs which implied Respond, Recognise, Respect, and Reform underlining that “We, the Global South, have the largest stakes in the future. Three-fourths of humanity lives in our countries. We should also have an equivalent voice. Hence, as the eight-decade-old global governance model slowly changes, we should try to shape the emerging order."

Reforms of multilateral institutions including the UN, WTO, WHO and Multilateral Development Banks for making them genuinely representative and managing debt vulnerabilities are important markers for the G20’s progress, heft and credibility even if all ideas and proposals have to be implemented through consensus. Let the geo politics not undermine the geo-economics and larger global welfare for a change.

One of the biggest initiatives that India took was to make the G20 itself more representative. She used her discretion as a host to invite many of her important strategic partners as special guests while working closely with all the other 19 stakeholders. However, India’s efforts to include 55 member African Union (AU) —which is the future story of the world and an umbilical partner of India, as a permanent member of the G20 on the same lines as EU

thereby converting G20 to G21, will indeed be the Bharat Moment.

For India it will be a symbolic and psychological victory with substantive outcomes as G21 will have a truly large representation on issues of global economy and governance. As the distinguished leaders arrive in India for the Summit on Sept 9-10, the Indian External Affairs Minister asserted that the G20 has both made India world ready and the world more India ready. Hope the cooperative spirit will prevail.