India's G20 presidency has shaped its global future and brought the country to the forefront of the international stage, with discussions at the NDTV G20 Conclave focusing on energy transition, clean growth, digital economy, and India's rising global influence.
India's External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, highlighted the importance of addressing the concerns of the global south in promoting economic growth and development during the B20 Summit, stating that India recognized the absence of the global south's voice in the G20 and took steps to rectify this by convening the Global South Summit.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized that the theme of India's G20 Presidency, 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,' is not just a slogan but a comprehensive philosophy derived from the country's cultural ethos. He also highlighted the importance of including the African Union in the G20 and expressed his belief that India will soon be among the top three economies in the world. The G20 Summit, to be held in September, will see increased security measures with 1,500 Delhi Police personnel deployed outside the venue.
India is hosting the G20 Summit in 2023, leading to the beautification of Delhi and temporary train and flight cancellations.
The G20 Summit in Delhi will be attended by more than 40 world leaders, including President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be present.
The Indian government is taking a different approach to the G20 summit, aiming to make it a national endeavor and involve different parts of the country, according to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
The G20, which is meeting in New Delhi, India, has seen a major shift in power dynamics over the past two decades, with the BRICS bloc now having a slightly higher combined GDP than the US, and EU countries accounting for around 20% of the G20's economic output.
President Joe Biden will attend the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India as a supporter, even as the US acknowledges that India's interests may diverge from Washington's, with India seeking to emphasize development issues and bridge the concerns of the world's largest economies with those of the Global South.
India is hosting the G20 summit as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to establish himself as a global leader, but activist Arundhati Roy criticizes the event as a vanity event for Modi and raises concerns about the treatment of minorities in India.
India's G20 presidency has been hailed as highly ambitious, achieving 112 outcomes and presidency documents and addressing key global issues such as sustainable development goals, climate action, and women-led development, while receiving exceptional support from developing nations and emerging markets.
The International Monetary Fund's deputy director, Gita Gopinath, congratulates Prime Minister Narendra Modi on successfully hosting the G20 Summit in India, with the leaders discussing various crucial developments and signing a Memorandum of Understanding for the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor.
The G20 summit in New Delhi showcased India's growing economic and geopolitical influence, but also highlighted concerns about the country's Hindu nationalist government and its approach to press freedom as journalists were largely restricted from covering the event.
The G20 leaders have made a commitment to accelerate reforms of multilateral development banks (MDBs) in order to address global challenges and maximize developmental impact, with a focus on the needs of low- and middle-income countries. India, as the outgoing G20 President, has emphasized the need for MDBs to be more sensitive to the changing developmental needs of the 21st century, particularly in relation to climate change. A panel of experts has been set up to craft these reforms, which include tripling sustainable lending levels by 2030 and creating new funding mechanisms. The G20 has also called for ambitious implementation of a roadmap on the capital adequacy framework of MDBs, which could unlock $200 billion worth of extra funding potential.
The G20 summit in India is expected to deliver a group agreement on the need for stricter global regulation on crypto assets, but the underlying fractures and shifting allegiances may render the focus more noise than substance.
The Indian government denies allegations of overspending on the G20 summit, stating that the additional expenditure was for permanent asset creation and infrastructure development and not limited to hosting the event.
Recent allegations have emerged questioning the transparency of the budget for the G-20 summit in Delhi, with claims that the expenditure was for boosting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's image ahead of the 2024 Assembly Elections.
