Editorial Summary: ‘India’s G-20 Presidency and the dawn of a new multilateralism’

‘India’s G-20 Presidency and the dawn of a new multilateralism’

Context: India’s presidency of the G-20 marked a significant year, characterised by efforts to address global challenges and promote a more inclusive and sustainable future.

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Key Insights from India’s G-20 Presidency

• Focus on Inclusivity and Multilateralism: India’s approach as G-20 President was defined by inclusivity, ambition, action-orientation, and decisiveness.
  • The New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, unanimously adopted, reflects India’s commitment to these principles.
  • The inclusion of the African Union (AU) as a permanent G-20 member exemplifies this inclusive approach, integrating 55 African nations and representing 80% of the global population.
• Voice of the Global South: India hosted the “Voice of the Global South Summit”, focusing on the concerns of developing countries and ensuring their active participation in shaping global narratives.
  • This effort marks a new era in multilateralism where developing countries have a more significant voice.
• People’s Presidency and Domestic Involvement: Reflecting its status as the world’s largest democracy, India’s G-20 Presidency engaged its population through Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) events, involving all states and union territories.
• Advancing the 2030 Agenda: India introduced the G-20 2023 Action Plan to Accelerate Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasising a cross-cutting, action-oriented approach to issues like health, education, gender equality, and environmental sustainability.
• Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI): India led the completion of the Digital Public Infrastructure Repository, a global technological collaboration initiative featuring over 50 DPIs from 16 countries, to foster inclusive growth, especially in the Global South.
• Environmental Initiatives: The “Green Development Pact” in the Declaration focuses on balancing environmental protection with combating hunger, promoting climate-conscious consumption, and planet-friendly production.
  • The G-20 also aims to triple global renewable energy capacity by 2030, establish the Global Biofuels Alliance, and push for Green Hydrogen.
• Commitment to Climate Justice: The G-20 recognized the need for substantial financial and technological support from the Global North to the developing world, acknowledging the $5.9 trillion requirement for developing countries to fulfil their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by 2030.
• Reforms and Gender Equality: India is advocating for UN reforms and the restructuring of bodies like the UN Security Council.
  • The G-20’s focus on gender equality led to the formation of a Working Group on the Empowerment of Women.
  • Domestically, India introduced the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023, for reserving seats in Parliament and State Assemblies for women.
• Policy Coherence and Trade: The New Delhi Declaration emphasised policy coherence, reliable trade, and ambitious climate action.
  • During India’s presidency, the G-20 achieved 87 outcomes and 118 adopted documents.
• Stance on Geopolitical Issues: India led discussions on geopolitical issues, emphasising zero tolerance for terrorism and civilian killings, advocating for humanitarianism over hostility, and reinforcing that this is not an era of war.

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