The gavel of the G20 (Group of Twenty) presidency that was handed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Bali summit in mid-November may appear diminutive. But the size belies the enormous responsibilities that come with it. On December 1, when India formally assumed charge of the G20, its member-nations represented 60 per cent of the world’s population but, more importantly, accounted for 85 per cent of global GDP and 75 per cent of international trade. Since its inception in 1999, the G20 has emerged as the world’s most powerful international forum for major economic issues and, recently, for geopolitical concerns too. Coincidentally, India will assume the presidency of the all-powerful United Nations Security Council too in December for a month. It will also be chairing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the world’s largest regional forum, till September 2023. It is truly India’s moment on the world stage.
Yet, the country takes charge of these fora at a torrid time in world affairs, beset with what external affairs minister S. Jaishankar calls the debilitating consequences of the 3Cs: Covid, Conflict and Climate Change. The Covid-19 pandemic gutted economies across the globe, including of the rich nations. Even as the world struggled to recover from the ill effects of the pandemic, the Ukraine war in February saw a dangerous rise in geopolitical tensions in addition to setting off a devastating food and energy crisis. The result? Over 200 million people have lost jobs worldwide and 100 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty. There is also a worrying slowdown in the UN goals for sustainable development and questions of survival confront the Global South. More than 70 countries, including neighbouring Sri Lanka and Pakistan, are battling a severe debt crisis, and the world as a whole is staring at an alarming global economic recession in 2023. In this fragmented and somewhat chaotic post-Covid world, India has been given the opportunity to take the lead in driving a consensus on key global issues,
