India’s G20 presidency will be inclusive, decisive, action-oriented

India will formally begin its G20 presidency on December 1 and host the next summit in New Delhi in September 2023.

India will make the G20 a “catalyst for global change” and its presidency of the group in 2023 will be inclusive and action-oriented.

As the G20 presidency was handed over to India by Indonesia, Modi said the country will work for collective action on global challenges such as food and energy security.

In an address at the closing session, Modi noted India is taking charge of the G20 at a “time when the world is simultaneously grappling with geopolitical tensions, economic slowdown, rising food and energy prices and the long-term ill-effects of the pandemic”.

“Together, we will make the G20 a catalyst for global change,” he added.

India’s theme of G-20 chairmanship – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’.

Modi said India will strive to ensure the G20 “acts as a global prime mover to envision new ideas and accelerate collective action”. The benefits of development should be universal and all-inclusive, and extended to everyone with compassion and solidarity, he said. Highlighting the role of women in global development, he said, “We have to maintain priority on women-led development even in our G20 agenda.”

Noting that the “sense of ownership over natural resources” is creating conflict, Modi said this is the main cause of the plight of the environment. A sense of trusteeship is the solution for the planet’s safe future and India’s LiFE or ‘Lifestyle For Environment’ can make a contribution in this context.

“Our guests will get full experience of India’s amazing diversity, inclusive traditions and cultural richness. We wish that all of you will participate in this unique celebration in India, the ‘Mother of Democracy’,” he added.

Earlier, Modi told the summit’s session on digital transformation that India’s G20 presidency will focus on bridging the digital divide, especially in developing countries, and ensuring greater benefits from digital technologies.

“The principle of ‘data for development’ will be an integral part of the overall theme of our presidency, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’,” he said. India is making digital access public but there is a huge digital divide at the international level and citizens of most developing countries don’t have “any kind of digital identity” while only 50 nations have digital payment systems, he said, speaking in Hindi.

Digital issues and reforms of multilateral financial institutions are among the focus areas for India’s G20 presidency.

Modi said proper use of digital technologies can be a force multiplier in the global fight against poverty, and digital solutions can aid the fight against climate change. But such benefits will be realised when digital access is inclusive.

These solutions are based on open source, open APIs and open standards that are interoperable and public. Citing the example of India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI), the open source CoWIN platform ensured the success of the largest vaccination campaign.