G20- A Primer

Background Note Prepared for

G20 University Connect
 Acknowledgement
‘G20-A Primer’ has been prepared under the overall
guidance of Professor Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General,
RIS. Substantive contents for the document are provided by
Mr Manish Chand, TGII Media Private Limited, New Delhi
and RIS team comprising of Dr Priyadarshi Dash, Associate
Professor; Dr Durgesh Rai, Fellow; Dr Rahul Ranjan,
Consultant; and Dr Sayantan Ghosal, Consultant.
We sincerely thank Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa;
Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Chief Coordinator (G20);
Shri Muktesh Pardeshi, OSD (G20); Shri Abhay Thakur,
Additional Secretary & Sous-Sherpa (G20) and Dr Sumit
Seth, Joint Secretary (Policy Planning & Research), Ministry
of External Affairs. for their guidance and support.
The production of the report was managed by RIS
publication team comprising of Mr Tish Malhotra,
Publication Officer and Mr Sachin Singhal, Publication
Assistant.

Copyright © RIS, 2022

Published in 2022 by: RIS

 India@G20
Presidency of Hope, Harmony and Peace
Hope, Harmony, Peace and Stability – these are defining ideas that will frame
India’s presidency of the G20 grouping of the world’s most advanced and
emerging economies. G20 provides India, the world’s fifth largest economy,
a great opportunity to shape the global agenda at a time of increasing
polarisation and escalation of geopolitical tensions, to advance peace,
stability and shared prosperity in a fragmented world.

Inclusive & Action-oriented

The gavel of G20 presidency was passed on symbolically by Indonesian
President Joko Widodo to Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the closing
session of the G20 summit in the Indonesian island resort of Bali on 16
November 2022. India took over the year-long G20 presidency officially on
1 December 2022 which will continue till 30 November 2023. In Bali, PM
Modi set the tone by assuring the world that India’s G20 presidency will be
“inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action-oriented.” Outlining key themes
and priorities of India’s presidency, PM Modi underlined that the G20 has
to convey a strong message in favour of peace and harmony and stressed
that without peace and security, “future generations will not be able to take
advantage of economic growth or technological innovation.”

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G20 Logo: Blooming Petal, Seven Petals
The essence of India’s G20 chairmanship is embodied in the theme of “One
Earth, One Family, One Future” and is crystallized in the ancient Sanskrit
ethos as “Vasudahaiva Kutumbakam.” The logo comprising a blooming lotus
and its seven petals cradling the globe affirms the value of all life – human,
animal, plant, and microorganisms – and their interconnectedness on the
planet Earth and in the wider universe. “The Symbol of the lotus in G20 Logo
is representation of hope in these times,” said PM Modi at the launch of the
logo on 8 November 2022. “Seven petals on Lotus represent seven continents
of the globe and also seven notes of music. G20 will bring the world together
in harmony. In this logo, Lotus flower is depicting the mythological heritage
of India, our faith, our intelligence,” PM Modi said during the logo’s launch.

For India, the G20 Presidency also marks the beginning of “Amritkaal”, the
25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence on
15 August 2022, leading up to the centenary of its independence, towards
a futuristic, prosperous, inclusive and developed society, distinguished by a
human-centric approach at its core.

Major Priorities
India sees its G20 presidency as a catalyst of change and global transformation,
in a world stricken by multi-dimensional crises such as food and energy
security, which has been accentuated by geopolitical tensions. With the world
mired in conflicts, jeopardising lives of ordinary people, India will harness its
G20 presidency to forge constructive and consensus-based solutions to a
host of challenges such as reviving global growth, stronger climate action
and robust global health architecture. Promoting food and nutrition security
will be an important priority as the pandemic has pushed millions of people
into poverty. Fast-tracking Sustainable Development Goals and leading
the world to adopt eco-friendly sustainable lifestyle through LiFE (Life for
Environment) will be other major priorities in the next few months. With

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its core strength in information technology, India focuses on making digital
architecture inclusive so that it can become a catalyst of socio-economic
transformation. Promoting inclusive growth and financial inclusion will be
the key priorities.

In a world fragmented by polarising conflicts and decline of global institutions,

the G20, which represents 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade,
and 2/3rd of the world’s population, will become more important than ever.
Under India’s presidency, India will seek to bolster the G20’s status and
authority as the premier global forum for cooperation on global economic
and financial issues. The G20, after all, was born at the height of the 2008
financial meltdown, which compelled the world to set up a new representative
multilateral grouping comprising developed and emerging economies. It in
this context, PM Modi has underlined that the world is looking at the “G20
with hope.”

Incredible India
Going forward, the G20 will also be an opportunity to showcase India, the
‘Mother of Democracy,’ in all its glory and diversity as it scales new heights
of excellence in just about every area, ranging from economic progress to
science and technology, space, innovation and start-ups. India will host 200
plus G20-related meetings in 56 different places in India, bringing delegates
from different countries to visit this vibrant and diverse country. For many
visitors, a G20 event will be their first taste and experience of India, and
hence all Indians need to put their best foot forward to welcome the world
and treat them as part of one family. This primer comprises short crisply-
written narratives on key themes under India’s G20 presidency to familiarise
students and researchers with major focus areas and priorities of what India
seeks to achieve in the next 12 months during its leadership of the 20-nation
body. We hope that India will consolidate its credentials as a global influencer
and leave its indelible imprint on the G20 process that seeks to create a
more inclusive and equitable world.

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Energy Transition:
Shaping a Green World

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Promoting energy transition for accelerating low-carbon growth is a key
priority of India’s ongoing renewables revolution, and will figure prominently
on the agenda of India’s G20 presidency. Setting new benchmarks and
targets, India has already declared that half of its electricity will be generated
from renewable sources. For India, time-bound and affordable finance and
sustainable supply of technology to developing countries is essential for
inclusive energy transition.

Prime Minister Modi unveiled his vision of inclusive energy transition at

the COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November 2021, where he
introduced the world to the concept of “panchamitra: (five nectars). This
five-pronged plan includes:

• India will reach its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030.

• India will meet 50% of its energy requirements from renewable energy
by 2030.
• India will reduce the total projected carbon emissions by one billion
tonnes from now onwards till 2030.
• By 2030, India will reduce the carbon intensity of its economy by less
than 45%.
• By the year 2070, India will achieve the target of Net Zero. These
“panchamrit” will be an unprecedented contribution of India to climate
action.
This concept of “panchamitra” will underpin India’s efforts to promote energy
security and energy transition under its leadership of G20 for 2022-2023.
For India, energy security is critically important for global growth as it is the
world’s fastest growing economy. This is why India opposes any restrictions
on the supply of energy to ensure stability in the energy market.

India’s advocacy of energy transition has acquired more resonance and

credibility with a host of path-breaking initiatives undertaken by the
government to ramp up the share of renewables in the country’s energy
fix. India has accelerated decarbonisation of its fossil fuels-driven economy

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by easing rules to allow commercial and industrial consumers to switch to
green sources of electricity. India has joined the First Movers Coalition, a
global initiative aimed at decarbonising the heavy industry and long-distance
transport sectors responsible for 30% of global emissions.

India, along with France, has launched the International Solar Alliance (ISA)
and is working towards ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’. The ISA has become
a global solar movement, with more than 100 countries joining this alliance
that seeks to promote production of solar energy.

To advance energy transition, India supports transformation and

diversification of energy systems for accelerating and ensuring clean,
sustainable and affordable energy transitions. In this regard, India advocates
continued support for developing countries, especially the most vulnerable
ones, in terms of providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and
modern energy, capacity building, affordable latest technology within the
public domain, mutually beneficial technology cooperation and financing
mitigation actions in the energy sector.

Looking ahead, India will leverage ISA to increase the production of solar
energy and to make it more affordable for wider use by industry and energy
consumers. India will push for enhancing use of solar energy in the context
of green growth and energy transition towards renewables. In India’s
view, solar energy is the renewable energy of the future which will help
reduce dependence on fossil fuels significantly. Under its G20 presidency,
India will promote ongoing energy transition through technology transfer
and knowledge transfer. Enhancing international cooperation to promote
innovation in solar and renewable technologies will be an important priority
of India in the coming days.

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 Get a LiFE: Promoting
Eco-friendly Lifestyle

The climate has literally changed, with global warming wreaking its havoc
around the world. Rivers are drying, glaciers are melting and many regions
of the world are experiencing record-breaking temperature, inflicting
much suffering all around. Freak climate-triggered events such as flood,
famine and typhoons are endangering our very existence. Against this
backdrop of looming climate emergency, India has pioneered a home-
grown initiative for sustainable and healthy lifestyle called LiFE - Lifestyle
For the Environment - and placed it on the global agenda, including at
G20. The concept was unveiled by Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi
at the annual global climate summit, COP26 in Glasgow on 1 November
2021. In his speech, PM Modi called upon the global community to drive
LiFE as an international mass movement towards “mindful and deliberate
utilisation, instead of mindless and destructive consumption” to protect
and preserve the environment.

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LiFE places an individual at the centre of action against climate change by
pursuing “Lifestyle of the planet, for the planet and by the planet.” Moving
beyond complex macro policy debates and the role of governments and
international agencies, LiFE encourages simple-to-do lifestyle changes such
as using bicycle to go to office or gyms to curb greenhouse gas emissions. LiFE
is animated by an underlying belief that changing deeply ingrained individual
and community behaviour alone can make a difference in the environmental
and climate crises. According to the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP), if one billion people out of the global population of eight billion
adopt environment-friendly behaviours in their daily lives, global carbon
emissions could drop by approximately 20%. In this new scheme, those who
practice such a lifestyle are recognised as Pro Planet People under LiFE.

Breathing a new life into his mission to promote sustainable life-style, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, in the presence of U.N. Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres, launched ‘Mission LiFE’ in Kevadia, a scenic Gujarati town famous
for the giant Statue of Unity. Mission LiFE, according to PM Modi, makes the
fight against climate change democratic with the contribution of everyone in
per own capacity. Underlining that ‘Mission LiFE’ will strengthen the concept
of a pro-people planet, PM Modi hoped that this will strengthen the spirit
of the P3 model, i.e. Pro-Planet People.” Reuse, reduce and recycling, an
integral part of India’s traditions and culture, is also part of Mission LiFE as it
encourage people towards making sustainable choices.

The LiFE action plan includes nudging individuals to practice simple yet
effective environment-friendly actions in their daily lives (demand), enabling
industries and markets to respond swiftly to the changing demand (supply),
and to influence government and industrial policy to support both sustainable
consumption and production (policy).

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Given the transformative potential of LiFE for global wellness, India has placed
sustainable lifestyle on the G20 agenda. G20 accounts for 80% of global GDP
as well as 80% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In India’s view, the G20
is therefore equipped to make LIFE a global movement for green lifestyle.
Mission LiFE will help the world in its fight against climate change and lead to
a sustainable way of life to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set
by the UN. In this context, PM Modi illuminated the significance of LiFE in his
remarks at the G20 summit in Bali on 15 November 2022. “For the safe future
of the planet, the sense of trusteeship is the solution. LiFE campaign can
make a big contribution to this. Its purpose is to make sustainable lifestyles
a mass movement”. In a recognition of India’s efforts in changing the global
debate on climate change, the G20 Bali Leaders’ Declaration has endorsed
the concept of sustainable development and lifestyles, resource efficiency
and circular economy.

Under India’s presidency of G20, LiFE will acquire an added momentum as

it wins support from the international community as well as those aspiring
for a healthy green lifestyle in India. In months to come, LiFE is poised to
become the global mantra for combating climate change. Mission LiFE has
attracted enthusiastic response from world leaders, who have lauded India’s
initiative for blending its spiritual ideal of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” to drive
green transformation. The motto of India’s G20 presidency – “One Earth
One Planet One Future” – encapsulates the essence of pro-Life planet and
people. Mission LiFE is a clarion call to action for citizens and governments
to save the planet.

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Bridging the Divide:
Digital Public Goods
Digital transformation is the new normal in the post-
COVID world. In the wake of COVID-19, Internet
emerged as our classroom, our workplace, the meeting
space and the preferred forum for exchanging ideas.
Given the transformative potential of the digital,
accelerating digital transformation across the spectrum
will be a major focus area of India’s G20 presidency and
diplomatic outreach in months to come. This digital
transformation will encompass digital economy, digital
finance, digital government, digital health, and digital
education.

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Digital technologies can also be harnessed in fight against poverty and
against climate change. Against this backdrop, India can lead the way by
showcasing its digital transformation story over 80% Indians have bank
accounts as compared to about 50% in 2014 – and share its expertise in this
area with the developed and developing world.

India focuses on making digital architecture inclusive so that it can become

a catalyst of socio-economic transformation. Digital transformation is
key to achieving scale and speed in critical areas including promoting
transparency in governance. The architecture of digital public goods that
India has developed is embeded with in-built democratic principles. These
solutions are based on open source, open APIs, open standards, which are
interoperable and public. Unified Payment Interface (UPI), pioneered by
India, is a classic example of digital public goods. Last year, over 40% of the
world’s real-time payment transactions took place through UPI. Similarly,
460 million new bank accounts were opened on the basis of digital identity,
making India a global leader in financial inclusion today. India’s open source
CoWIN platform is widely seen as the biggest vaccination campaign in
human history.

“Aadhaar, Diksha, Swayam are some of the key elements of the public
digital infrastructure that India has built up over the years. India has to
advance Ulip (Unified Logistics Interface Platform), and is in the process of
building ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce).

But while India is making digital access public, there is a massive digital
divide at the international level. Citizens of most developing countries of
the world do not have any kind of digital identity. Only 50 countries have
digital payment systems. In this context, India will push for bringing digital
transformation in the life of every human being, so that no person in the
world will be deprived of the benefits of digital technology. In his remarks
at the G20 summit in Bali, PM Modi told the world that during its G20
Presidency, India will work jointly with G20 partners towards this objective.

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The principle of “Data for development” will be an integral part of the overall
theme of our Presidency “One Earth, One Family, One Future”.

India sees digital transformation as the key to reaching sustainable

development goals on poverty, education, health, and direct benefit transfer.
India will also work with other G20 countries to ensure that the benefits of
digital transformation should not be confined to a small part of the human
race.

Going forward, digital and going green are big opportunities. “There are
400 million people who do not have a digital identity; 200 million people
do not have a bank account; as about 133 countries do not even have fast
payments. So, this is a massive opportunity to use to transform the world,”
said Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa.

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Climate Finance: Funding
Green Growth

Climate finance holds the master key to accelerating green transition and
green development. With the world becoming increasingly conscious of the
damaging consequences of global warming, time-bound urgent delivery
of climate finance from developed countries to developing countries has
acquired a note of urgency. India has consistently batted for climate finance
in international fora as it holds developed countries historically responsible
for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions. Based on this reasoning, India,
along with other developing countries, has made a compelling case for fast-
tracking climate finance to fund green transition at G20. At the global climate
summit COP15 in Copenhagen in 2009, developed countries had committed
to jointly mobilise US$100 billion per year by 2020 to help developing
countries tackle the effects of climate change. But more than 14 years later,
this target has only been partially met.

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Against this backdrop, fast-tracking delivery of climate finance and raising the
ambition for climate finance will be a high priority for India’s G20 presidency.
In India’s view, developing countries require substantive enhancement
in climate finance from the floor of US$100 billion per year to meet their
ambitious goals and rich countries need to lead the mobilisation of resources.

In this regard, the G20 summit in Bali in November 2022 agreed to expedite
the delivery of climate finance to developing countries and agreed to work
on an ambitious New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) of climate finance
from US$100 billion per year to support developing countries.

Under its presidency, India will persuade developed countries to raise the
bar for climate finance to over US$100 billion per year. India will also work
with G20 countries to scale up the deployment of zero and low emission
power generation including renewable energy. The G20 summit in India is
expected to reinforce the target to limit the temperature increase to 1.5
degrees celsius.

In a victory for India and other developing countries, the Bali Declaration
urged developed countries to at least double their collective provision of
climate finance for adaptation to developing countries, from 2019 levels,
by 2025, in the context of achieving a balance between mitigation and
adaptation. India expects concrete action from rich countries in terms of
climate finance, technology transfer and strengthening the capacity of poor
and developing countries to combat climate change.

Given the sheer scale of the climate crisis, action cannot be delayed any
further. In this regard, G20 has a major responsibility to persuade developed
countries to walk the talk on climate finance. Under its presidency, India will
press developed countries to provide financial, technological, and capacity-
building support from developed countries to mitigate climate change. In
India’s view, developed countries, given their historical responsibility for
greenhouse gas emissions, should lead the mobilisation of the resources for
combating climate change. There should be equitable allocation of funds
between adaptation and mitigation projects.

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Enhancing G20 Collaboration
for Food Security,
Popularising Millets
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent disruptions in
supply chains following the Russia-Ukraine crisis, food insecurity has become
a major global concern, and will figure prominently on the agenda of India’s
G20 presidency. As the food crisis affects both developing and developed
countries, India will harness its G20 presidency to enhance international
collaboration and assistance across the North-South divide for bolstering
global food security. In this regard, India has robust credentials to not only
ensure food security of its 1.3 billion citizens, but has also emerged as a
food provider to many developing countries. In the spirit of South-South
cooperation, India had sent 50,000 metric tonnes of wheat and multiple
tranches of medicines and vaccines to Afghanistan, extended credits
of US$3.8 billion to Sri Lanka for fuel, essential commodities and trade
settlement, supplied 10,000 metric tons of food aid and vaccine shipments
to Myanmar, among others.

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Given the collapse of global supply chains due to the double whammy of the
pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis, India, under its G20 presidency, will
mobilise the international community to maintain the supply chain of both
manure and food grains stable and assured. In particular, India will prioritise
uninterrupted supply of fertilisers. “Today’s fertilizer shortage is tomorrow’s
food crisis for which the world will not have a solution,” said PM Modi at the
G20 summit in Bali held on 15-16 November 2022.

To ease the global food crisis, India has supported Black Sea Grain Initiative
for supply of Russian food products and fertilizers to the world markets. This
will ensure unimpeded deliveries of grain, foodstuffs, and fertilizers/inputs
from Ukraine and the Russian Federation to ease tension and prevent global
food insecurity and hunger in developing countries. In this regard, India is
against imposing export prohibitions or restrictions on food and fertilizers
as such.

Under its G20 presidency, India will focus on mobilising international efforts
to keep food supply chains functioning under challenging circumstances.
India has shown an unflinching commitment to addressing food insecurity
by ensuring accessibility, affordability, and sustainability of food and food
products for all those in need, specially in countries of the Global South.

For India, a key priority will be to promote innovations to create more

synergies in agriculture, food technology and biotechnology in order improve
food and nutrition security.

Looking ahead, India will focus on sustainable food security and promoting
natural farming. Climate-resilient and smart agriculture will be a key
feature of India’s international collaboration in the field of food security.
Under its presidency, India will also re-popularise nutritious and traditional
foodgrains like millets. In this regard, India will organise several events
under its presidency to celebrate the International Year of Millets with great
enthusiasm.

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With food security being one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals,
the support of G20 countries to the World Food Programme will be crucial.
India has launched “One Nation One Ration Card scheme,” a citizen-centric
initiative for ensuring food security for all.

In the area of food security, India has impressive achievements to its credit,
including the largest food security initiative in the world. Under Pradhan
Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), the Government of India
provided 5 kg foodgrains per person per month, over and above the regular
monthly foodgrains provided under National Food Security Act. This scheme
provided food security to more than 800 million Indians at the height of the
coronavirus pandemic. The IMF has applauded the scheme for preventing
any increase in extreme poverty levels in India and highlighted that the
doubling of food entitlements worked substantially in terms of absorbing
the COVID-induced income shocks on the poor.

In terms of international outreach to enhance global food security, India has

immense agricultural manpower compared to G20 countries, which could
be harnessed for enhancing food production. Moreover, Indian agricultural
talent can play a pivotal role in augmenting global food security. Indian
agricultural skills have helped give new life to traditional agricultural products
like cheese and olive in some countries of the world.

As more advances in digital technologies and agri-tech companies emerge,

India has an opportunity to share its knowledge and technical know-how to
promote conservative and low-cost farming techniques like zero-till farming,
precision farming, contract farming, drip irrigation, and provide quality seeds
at affordable prices.

Enhancing G20 efforts to make agriculture more environmentally sustainable

will be critical to tackle hunger and malnutrition. In this regard, international
cooperation is needed to adapt various agricultural technologies and
methods which are free from pesticides, herbicides and contamination in
order to ensure positive, nutritional outcomes.

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Democratizing Global Financial
Governance: Adapting to 21st
Century Realities

The world order created after the Second World War has become increasingly
archaic and suffers from fatigue. This has adversely impacted the capacity
of global institutions to respond to emerging crises. In this context, making
global financial governance institutions more democratic and representative
of ongoing shifts in the world order is a major priority of India under its
G20 presidency. Institutions such as the World Bank and IMF continue to
remain the bastion of the West and need to provide greater representation
and weight to emerging and developing countries in order to stay relevant.
Multilateral institutions and international financing institutions, including
development banks, need to reform urgently in view of the rise of emerging
economies. In this backdrop, fast-tracking reforms of global governance
institutions will be among key priorities for India’s G20 presidency.

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The crisis of essential goods and collapse of global supply chains in the wake
of the Ukraine crisis has made acceleration of global governance reforms all
the more urgent. In his address at the G20 summit in Bali, Prime Minister
Modi vividly brought out the scale of the crisis and underlined the need for
reform of multilateral institutions. “The challenge for the poor citizens of
every country is more severe. Everyday life was already a struggle for them.
They do not have the financial capacity to deal with the double whammy.
Due to the double whammy, they lack the financial capacity to handle it,”
he said. “We should also not hesitate to acknowledge that multilateral
institutions such as the UN have been unsuccessful on these issues. And we
have all failed to make suitable reforms in them,” said PM Modi. In India’s
view, reforms in multilateral organizations are necessary to ensure better
global governance for faster post-COVID recovery.

Currently, the governance structure of the IMF and the World Bank have a
peculiar governance structure. They are controlled by boards where voting
power depends on the economic size of their member states. This has led
to a stark asymmetry: the US government has a vote share of 16% while a
country like Ethiopia – home to more than 100 million people – controls
only 0.09% of the votes in the IMF. the World Bank is always led by a US-
American and the IMF by a European. Both organizations are headquartered
in the capital of the United States of America and employ many economists
from high-income countries. This governance structure favouring developed
countries needs to change urgently.

India remains committed to maintaining a strong and effective Global

Financial Safety Net with a strong, quota-based and adequately resourced
IMF at its center. India will continue to push for advancing the process of
IMF governance reform under the 16th General Review of Quotas, including
a new quota formula as a guide, by December 15, 2023. The G20 countries
are expected to work for strengthening the long-term financial resilience of
the international financial architecture, including by promoting sustainable
capital flows, and developing local currency capital markets.

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India’s approach to revising global governance is animated by the concept
of reformed multilateralism, which was first articulated by Prime Minister
Modi at the Leaders Retreat in BRICS Summit 2018 at Johannesburg, South
Africa. The idea was to push reform of multilateral bodies which were
not reflective of the contemporary realities and to give greater voice in
governance to other major emerging economies. In sync with this idea, India
has been relentlessly advocating reform of global governance architecture,
economic and political, at various global fora including G20. In many ways,
G20 remains the most representative multilateral grouping comprising of
both developed countries and emerging economies and is therefore best
equipped to pursue reform of the multilateral institutions and banks. With
developing countries holding the G20 presidency till 2025 – Indonesia
in 2022, India in 2023, Brazil in 2024 and South Africa in 2025 – it is an
opportune moment to collectively push for and achieve significant changes
in international financial institutions. India’s G20 presidency is a unique
opportunity to promote greater say for the global South in international
governance institutions.

In this regard, bold innovations in global financial governance are urgently

needed. There is a growing consensus that the Bretton Woods institutions
no longer serve the purpose in the 21st century and represent the new
geo-economic realities. Enhancing the legitimacy of multilateral financial
institutions is not only in the interest of the world but also the major
shareholders of IMF and the World Bank.

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Accelerating SDGs: Making
World a Better Place to Live in
With the clock ticking away for the achievement of the United Nations
Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, accelerating SDGs has acquired a
note of urgency. Unfortunately, progress of SDGs has been slowed down
due to COVID-19, Ukraine-Russia war, uneven economic growth and high
inflation. In the context of the G20 summit in Bali, UN Secretary-General
António Guterres called on the G20 leaders to respond to “an SOS” from
the SDGs and to support governments of the Global South in tackling the
climate crisis, prevent famine and hunger, bolster the energy transition,
and promote the digital transformation.

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Against this background, India will focus on accelerating progress in
SDGs during its G20 presidency. The SDGs encompass inter-connected
issues like poverty, food and nutrition security, health, education, women
empowerment, employment and climate change.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or Global Goals include 17

interlinked goals designed to be a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity
for people and the planet, now and into the future”. The SDGs were set up
in 2015 by the United Nations General Assembly (UN-GA) and are included
in a UN-GA Resolution called the 2030 Agenda. The 17 SDGs are: No poverty,
Zero hunger, Good health and Well-being, quality education, gender
equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, decent
work and economic growth, industry, innovation and infrastructure, reduced
inequality, sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption
and Production, Climate Action, Life Below Water, Life On Land, Peace,
Justice, and Strong Institutions, Partnerships for the Goals.

SDGs are an integral part of India’s development agenda and its belief in an
interconnected world, as epitomised in ethos of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,”
the ethos which animates India’s G20 Presidency. India played a pivotal
role in the formulation of the United Nations Agenda 2030 and much of
the country’s National Development Agenda is mirrored in the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs). In this sense, the progress of the world to meet
the SDGs largely depends on India’s progress.

The central thrust of India’s efforts will be on enhancing and diversifying

financing of SDGs, especially for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and
Small Island Developing States (SIDS). In this regard, a consensus is emerging
among developing countries on the need for restructuring multilateral
institutes like the World Bank, IMF and WTO to raise SDG finance. India
advocates a bigger role for the private sector in accelerating SDGs by
proactively increasing financial flows for it. India also supports further
investments for low-and middle-income countries through innovative

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financing sources and instruments, including mobilising private investment
to support the achievement of the SDGs.

Fast-tracking SDGs has become imperative. According to a new working

paper by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, India stands
out among the G20 countries as it has registered fastest trend growth during
2015-2019, and is moving faster than even lower-middle income countries.

Looking ahead, under its G20 presidency India will work closely with
advanced and emerging economies to enhance financing for SDGs through
different ways including increased domestic tax revenues, increased
sovereign (government) borrowing from international development finance
institutions (DFIs); and debt restructuring for heavily indebted borrowers.
India will also focus on pushing public investments and structural reforms,
promoting private investments, and strengthening multilateral trade and
resilience of global supply chains, to support long-term growth, and make it
sustainable and inclusive and green.

India will showcase some of the country’s achievements at G20 meetings

and focus on exchanging experiences and best practices in other countries.
Accelerating SDGs is part of India’s vision to create and shape an inclusive
and prosperous planet to make it a better place to live in.

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 Glossary
ACT-Accelerator: Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator is an important
framework of global collaboration to accelerate development, production
and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines. 

Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA): The AAAA establishes a robust

foundation to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. It also provides a new global framework for
financing sustainable development through aligning all financing flows and
policies with economic, social and environmental priorities.

Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS): The Agricultural Market

Information System (AMIS) is an inter-agency platform to enhance food
market transparency and encourage international policy coordination in
times of crisis. It was established during the G20 French presidency. Crops
such as Wheat, Maize, Rice and Soybeans are covered under this initiative.

Agro-Food Global Value Chains: They connect producers of food and fibre
to consumers across the world and help deliver stable supplies of food along
with greater choice to consumers, and at the same time generate incomes
for producers.

Antarctic Treaty System: The Antarctic Treaty System is a set of complex

arrangements created to regulate relations among states in the Antarctic. The
Antarctic Treaty is at the heart of the system that was signed in Washington
D.C. on 1 December 1959 and entered into force on 23 June 1961.

Antalya Youth Goal: The Antalya Youth Goal refers to the goal agreed by G20
countries in 2015 in Antalya, Turkey “reduce the share of young people in
their countries who are most at risk of being permanently left behind in the
labour market by 15% by 2025”.

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Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS): BEPS refers to the tax planning
strategies adopted by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to exploit the gaps
and disparities in tax rules and regulations between different economies to
avoid tax payments.
Circular Economy: The circular economy involves the markets that
incentivize the reuse of products, instead of scrapping them and exploiting
the new resources. In this economy, all forms of waste, such as clothes, scrap
metal and obsolete electronics are returned to the economy or used more
efficiently.
Compact with Africa (CwA): CwA was initiated under the German G20
Presidency to promote private investment in Africa, including in infrastructure
sectors. The main objective of CwA is to increase attractiveness of private
investment in African economies through significant improvements of the
macro, business and financing frameworks.
COVAX: COVAX is the vaccines pillar of the ACT-Accelerator. The aim of COVAX
is to accelerate the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines,
and to guarantee fair and equitable access for every country in the world.
Climate Finance: Climate Finance is local, national or transnational funding
from public, private and alternative sources that seeks to support climate
change mitigation and adaptation actions. In order to assist developing
countries in curbing emissions and adapting to climate change, developed
countries agreed to mobilise US$100 billion annually for climate finance.
Corporate Governance: It helps policy makers evaluate and improve the
legal, regulatory, and institutional framework for corporate governance, with
a view to supporting economic efficiency, sustainable growth and financial
stability.
Compendium of Good Practices on Corruption: It focuses on national
experiences in measuring corruption to have better quality (valid, reliable,
actionable, etc.) data on corruption, on the measurement of the level of
corruption risk and of the effectiveness of anti-corruption policies.

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Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS): CCUS refers to a suite
of technologies that can play a diverse role in meeting global energy and
climate goals. It is the process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions and
either using them to make things such as building materials (utilization) or
permanently storing them thousands of feet below the surface (storage).
Common Reporting Standard (CRS): CRS is standard developed by the
OECD in 2014 for the automatic exchange of information between partner
countries to fight tax evasion. It applies to each country that has committed
to the CRS and transposed it into its law.
Data Gaps Initiative (DGI): Two phases of the Data Gaps Initiative (DGI)
were started in 2009 in response to the G20’s request to identify data gaps
and strengthen data collection. The first phase of the Data Gaps Initiative
(DGI-1: 2009-15) focused on the development of conceptual frameworks, as
well as enhancements to some statistical collection and reporting. The main
objective of DGI-2 (2015-21) was to implement the regular collection and
dissemination of reliable and timely statistics for policy use.
Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI): Launched by G20 in 2020, the
DSSI offered the world’s poorest countries to suspend their debt service
payments for a limited period and provide them financial space to tackle the
pandemic and its consequences. 

Disaster Resilience: It is the ability of individuals, communities, organisations

and states to adapt to and recover from hazards, shocks or stresses without
compromising long-term prospects for development.

Disaster Resilient Infrastructure: It includes vital buildings, public communal

facilities, transit systems, telecommunications, and power systems that are
strategically designed to withstand the impact of a natural disaster like a
flood, earthquake, or wildfire.
EMPOWER Alliance: EMPOWER is a private sector led alliance that aims to
improve women’s access to opportunities through enhanced cooperation
between private and public sectors. It strives to remove the barriers that
hinder the women’s participation in economic activities.

26
Financial Action Task Force (FATF): The FATF is an inter-governmental body
that works as a global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog. It
works to establish international standards with objective to prevent money
laundering and terrorist financing activities.
Financial Stability Board (FSB): The FSB is an international body to monitor
and make recommendations about the global financial system. One of the
key aims of FSB is to promote international financial stability.
Food Coalition: The Food Coalition is a multi-stakeholder platform. Its
objective is to act and accelerate the pace of change towards agrifood
systems transformation and to build alliances and collective support for
countries in need. It also works to respond to the global priorities of rising
food insecurity, intensification of climate shocks and instability for global
food and agriculture.
Future of Work: The future of work describes changes in the way work will
get done over the next decade, influenced by technological, generational
and social shifts.
G20 Innovation League: Started under G20 Presidency of Italy in 2021,
the G20 Innovation League strives to leverage international investment
in innovation and technology, and foster cooperation between public and
private sectors to confront the most pressing challenges of the world.
G20 Water Platform: Launched in 2021 and implemented by Saudi Arabia,
the G20 Water Platform is a digital instrument to share experiences on
sustainable water management across the world.

Global Infrastructure Hub (GI Hub): Established by G20 in 2014, the GI

Hub is a not-for-profit organization to advance the delivery of sustainable,
resilient and inclusive infrastructure through action-oriented programms. It
collaborates with the public and private sectors, and works as a knowledge
sharing hub.

Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI): Officially launched on 10

December 2010 in Seoul, South Korea, the GPFI is an inclusive platform for
G20 and non-G20 countries, and other stakeholders to work on the issue
of financial inclusion through peer learning, knowledge sharing, policy
advocacy and coordination.

27
Global Public Goods (GPGs): GPGs are those goods or services whose benefits
affect all citizens of the world. They affect various aspects of our lives- from
our natural environment, histories and cultures, and technological progress
to everyday utility systems like the metric system.
Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC): The GFSEC is an international
platform to discuss and find collective solutions to the challenge of excess
capacity and enhance market functioning in the steel sector. The Global
Forum was created by G20 Leaders at G20 Hangzhou Summit in 2016.
The Global Forum is an open platform for all G20 members and interested
members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
(OECD).
Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN): The GFSN can be broadly defined as
a set of institutional arrangements that provide financial resources to
countries that need either insurance against potential shocks or funding for
crisis resolution. The objective of these arrangements is to help a country
in crisis restore its self-financing capacity and correct its domestic policy
failures through appropriate conditionality.
Green Finance: Green finance refers to the financial arrangements that
are specific to the use for projects that are environmentally sustainable or
projects that adopt the aspects of climate change.
Green Recovery: A green recovery focuses on policies and solutions that
will benefit people and the planet for years and years to come. It would
enable countries to build back better, while driving economic growth and
job creation.
Inter-Agency Group on Economic and Financial Statistics (IAG): Established
in 2008, the key role of IAG is to coordinate and monitor the issues related to
statistics and data gaps with regard to financial sector. The IAG is comprised
of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the European Central Bank
(ECB), Eurostat, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations (UN),
and the World Bank.

28
International Energy Forum (IEF): The IEF is a world’s leading international
organization of energy ministers from 71 countries. It comprises of both
energy producing and consuming countries, and an important global forum
for dialogue on energy issues.
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing: It is a broad term
that captures a wide variety of fishing activity. Illegal, unreported, and
unregulated fishing activities violate both national and international fishing
regulations. IUU fishing is a global problem that threatens ocean ecosystems
and sustainable fisheries.
International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO): The IMEO is a data-
driven and action-oriented initiative by the UN Environment Programme
(UNEP) to catalyse a substantial reduction in methane emissions.
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services (IPBES): IPBES is to perform regular and timely assessment of
knowledge on biodiversity and ecosystem services and their interlinkages
at the global level. The IPBES was initiated under the Japan G20 Presidency.
Just Transition: Just Transition means greening the economy in a way that is
fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work
opportunities and leaving no one behind.
Money Market Fund: A money market fund is a kind of mutual fund that
invests in highly liquid, near-term instruments. These instruments include
cash, cash equivalent securities, and high-credit-rating, debt-based securities
with a short-term maturity.
Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs): MDBs are international financial
institutions to promote economic and social development in developing
countries. The most important MDBs are the World Bank, Asian Development
Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD),
Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and African Development Bank
(AfDB).

29
Non-Bank Financial Institution (NBFI): A NBFI is a financial institution that
does not have a full banking license and cannot accept deposits from the
public. However, NBFIs do facilitate alternative financial services, such as
investment (both collective and individual), risk pooling, financial consulting,
brokering, money transmission, and check cashing.
OECD Anti-Bribery Convention: The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, also
known as Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in
International Business Transactions, is a legally binding international anti-
corruption instrument that focuses on the “supply side” of the bribery
transaction (the person or entity offering, promising or giving a bribe). Bribery
is treated as a criminal offence under the laws of parties to the convention.
One Health: ‘One Health’ is an integrated, unifying approach to balance and
optimize the health of people, animals and the environment. It is particularly
important to prevent, predict, detect and respond to global health issues like
the COVID-19 pandemic.
Osaka Blue Ocean Vision: Adopted under G20 presidency of Japan in 2019,
the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision is a voluntary commitment by G20 countries to
“reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050 through
a comprehensive life-cycle approach”.
Paris Agreement: The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international
treaty on climate change. The agreement was adopted on 12 December
2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. The agreement aims to
limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, rather to 1.5 degrees
Celsius, compared to the pre-industrial levels.
Paris Club: The Paris Club is a major inter-governmental group of official
creditor countries. Informal in nature, the group strives to find out workable
solutions to the payment related issues confronted by debtor countries.
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT): Through PRGT, the IMF
provides concessional financial support to low income countries focusing on
promotion of growth and poverty reduction.

30
Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA): The overall
goal of PIDA is to promote socio-economic development and poverty
reduction in Africa through improved access to integrated regional and
continental infrastructure networks and services. The PIDA was initiated
under the German G20 Presidency to promote private investment in Africa.
Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs): The RFAs are mechanisms or
agreements through which groups of countries mutually pledge financial
support to countries experiencing financial difficulties in their regions.
Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST): The IMF’s RST is to assist low-
income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to external
shocks and ensure sustainable growth, and contribute to their longer-term
balance of payments stability.
Special Drawing Rights (SDRs): The SDR is an international reserve asset
created by International Monetary Fund (IMF) to supplement the official
reserves of its member countries. The value of an SDR is based on a basket
of world’s five major currencies – the US dollar, euro, yuan, yen and the UK
pound.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Adopted by the United Nations in
2015, the SDGs, also known as the Global Goals, are universal call to action
to eradicate poverty, protect the planet and ensure that by 2030 all people
have peace and prosperity. There are 17 SDGs which are integrated and
recognize that action in one area affect the outcomes in other areas.
Sustainable Finance: Sustainable finance is a process that takes in to account
the environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations while
making the investment decisions. It leads to more long-term investments in
sustainable economic activities and projects.
Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and
Waste (TPLFW): It was launched in 2015 during G20 Turkey Presidency.
The Platform effectively serves as gateway to accessing information on
the measurement, reduction, policies, alliances, actions and examples of
successful models involving innovative technologies and approaches applied
globally to reduce food loss and waste, with links to other related platforms.

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Total Loss Absorbing Capacity (TLAC): Total loss-absorbing capacity is an
international standard to ensure that global systemically important banks
(G-Sibs) have enough equity and bail-in debt to pass losses to investors and
minimise the risk of a government bailout.
UNCLOS: The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) was
adopted in 1982. The Convention lays down a comprehensive regime of law
and order in the world’s oceans and seas that establishes the rules governing
all uses of the oceans and their resources. It also provides a framework for
further development of specific areas of the law of the sea.
UN-Habitat: The aim of United Nations Human Settlements Programme
(UN-Habitat) is to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns
and cities across the world. The UN-Habitat is the central point for all the
issues related to urbanization and human settlement within the UN system.
Universal Health Coverage: Universal health coverage means that all people
have access to the health services they need, when and where they require
them, without encountering financial hardships. It covers the full range of
essential health services from health promotion to prevention, treatment,
rehabilitation and palliative care.
UNSC Resolution 2347: The UNSC Resolution 2347 focuses mainly on fight
against terrorism and deliberate attempt by terrorist groups to destroy and
plunder cultural property. It also pays attention to the common interest
and obligation of the global community to protect cultural heritage in the
broader context of an armed conflict.
Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi): Established in October
2017, the key objective of We-Fi is to support women entrepreneurs by
enhancing access to financial products and services, capacity building,
expanding networks, offering mentorships and opportunities to link with
local and world markets.

32
 G20 Broad Economic Indicators
G20 (US$ Share in World Growth
Trillion) (%) (%)
Indicators
(2010-
2010 2021 2010 2021 2021)
Output/Activity
GDP 55.7 70.1* 85.9 85.6 2.3#
Value Added, Agriculture 1.9 2.6* 70.2 71.0 3.1#
Value Added, Industry 14.3 18.5* 82.9 83.6 2.6#
Value Added, Services 36.3 45.9* 86.9 86.5 2.4#
Population 4.5 4.9 64.9 62.1 0.7
Trade
Merchandise Exports 11.7 17.1 76.4 76.4 3.5
Merchandise Imports 14.5 17.4 78.4 76.9 1.7
Total Merchandise Trade 26.1 34.4 77.5 76.7 2.5
Exports of Services 3.2 4.9 79.6 80.7 4.0
Imports of Services 3.0 4.4 77.2 78.0 3.5
Total Trade of Services 6.2 9.3 78.4 79.4 3.8
Investment
Inward FDI 1.0 1.1 72.7 69.8 0.8
Outward FDI 1.1 1.5 77.0 87.6 3.1
Digital Economy
Exports of Digitally-
1.6 3.2 85.6 84.1 6.5
Deliverable Services
Export s of ICT Services 0.3 0.7 85.2 85.1 9.9
Sources: IMF-DOTS, IMF-IFS, UNCTAD, OECD
Note: For growth, compound annual growth rate (CAGR) has been computed for the period 2010-2021.
* Figures are for the year 2020 . # CAGR is calculated for the year 2010-2020

33
 G20 Working Groups
(Indian Presidency)

Sherpa Track
• Agriculture
• Anti-corruption
• Culture
• Digital Economy
• Disaster Risk Resilience and Reduction
• Development
• Education
• Employment
• Environment and Climate Sustainability
• Energy Transitions
• Health
• Trade and Investment
• Tourism

Finance Track
• Framework Working Group (FWG)
• International Financial Architecture (IFA)
• Infrastructure Working Group (IWG)
• Sustainable Finance Working Group (SFWG)
• Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI)
• Joint Finance and Health Task Force
• International Taxation agenda
• Financial Sector issues

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 G20 Engagement Groups
(Indian Presidency)
• Business20 (B20)
• Civil20 (C20)
• Labour20 (L20)
• Parliament20 (P20)
• Science20 (S20)
• Supreme Audit Institutions20 (SAI20)
• Startup20 (S20)
• Think20 (T20)
• Urban20 (U20)
• Women20 (W20)
• Youth20 (Y20)

35
 Permanent Invitees of G20
Country
• Spain

International Organizations
• United Nations (UN)
• International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• World Bank (WB)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• International Labour Organization (ILO)
• Financial Stability Board (FSB)
• Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
• African Union (AU)
• African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD)
• Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Guests Countries & International

Organizations
(G20 India Presidency 2023)
Country International Organizations
• Bangladesh • International Solar Alliance (ISA)
• Egypt • Coalition for Disaster Resilient
• Mauritius Infrastructure (CDRI)
• Netherlands • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
• Nigeria
• Oman
• Singapore
• UAE

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 G20 Member Countries

Australia Argentina Brazil Canada China

EU France Germany India Indonesia

Italy Japan Mexico Russia South Africa

Saudi Arabia South Korea Turkey USA UK

37
 Indian G20 Presidency: Social Media Coverage

https://www.g20.org

https://twitter.com/g20org

https://www.facebook.com/g20org

https://www.instagram.com/g20org/?hl=en

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCspVYmJSYUek633_enhLo3w

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