G20 and India

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 Tietler

Organizing one global mega event where world is staring at you and you are motivating them to learn the very original concept of the land ‘Vasudev Kutumbakam’. Grow with the essence and presence of everyone, is the real motto of presiding the world’s largest group G20.

The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU) and now introduced one more Union that is African Union. The group is composed of most of the world’s largest economies, including both developed and developing nations, and accounts for –

around 90% of gross world product (GWP),
80% of international trade,
two-thirds of the global population and
roughly 60% of World’s land area

The G20 was founded in 1999 in response to Asian economic crises. Since 2008, it has convened at least once a year and attended by a set of Finance related ministry and the presiding officers of their respecting banks. After 2008, the global depression hit the world market and so G20 evolved and involved each member’s head of government or state, finance minister, foreign minister, and other high-ranking officials.

In addition to these 20 members, the chief executive officers of several other international forums and institutions participate in meetings of the G20.

President Chair with rotation

The G20 Presidency hosts the Summit and directs the agenda for a calendar year. And the currently chaired by Prime Minister of India.

Rule 1:

To decide which member nation gets to chair the G20 leaders’ meeting for a given year, all members, except the European Union, are assigned to one of five different groups.

Rule 2:

All countries within a group are eligible to take over the G20 Presidency when it is their group’s turn. Therefore, the states within the relevant group need to negotiate among themselves to select the next G20 President.

G20 Structure & Agenda

The G20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff
The incumbent chair establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration of its term, which coordinates the group’s work and organizes its meetings.

The G20 consists of two parallel tracks called the Finance and the Sherpa Track. These two tracks play an active role in shaping ideas and priorities for the host presidency while also guiding the intergovernmental negotiations carried out throughout the presidency.

Sherpa Track

The Sherpas of member countries are the personal emissaries of the Leaders.

They concentrate on socio-economic issues such as agriculture, anti-corruption, climate, digital economy, education, employment, energy, environment, health, tourism, trade and investment.

They oversee all the negotiations over the year, discuss the agenda for the Summit and coordinate the substantive work of G20.

Finance Track

It is headed by the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, who generally meet four times a year, with two meetings being held on the sidelines of World Bank /International Monetary Fund meetings.

Focus areas: Fiscal and Monetary policy issues such as global economy, infrastructure, financial regulation, financial inclusion, international financial architecture, and international taxation.

Other Elements:

Troika: The G20 does not have a charter or a secretariat. The Presidency is supported by the Troika, which includes the previous, current, and incoming presidencies.

A non-binding forum: Its decisions are not legally binding, and member countries are not required to implement them.

International organizations: The G20 members also work closely with international organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

G20 and India’s Interests

India’s participation in the G20 process stems from the realization that as a developing economy India has an important stake in the stability of the international economic and financial system.

India’s agenda at the G20 Summits is driven by :

the need to bring greater inclusivity in the financial system
to avoiding protectionist tendencies and
for ensuring that growth prospects of developing countries do not suffer

Areas of Concern:

1.) Terrorism

International action on terrorism is the need of the hour as the roots of terrorism may be in some other country; the conspiracy could be hatched in some third country, and the actual target maybe another country like India.

It, therefore, requires global action, particularly regarding the money that flows into terrorist network from different parts of the world

G20 grouping can be leveraged with countries facing similar issues, to tackle the threats from Terrorism

2.) Economic Offenders

Dealing with the economic offenders has been emphasized by India as a serious policy challenge for India and other countries in G20. India has proposed this idea and sought cooperation from other G20 countries as well. This proposal has been received quite well by other member countries.

3.) Taxation

Global taxation is another issue for G20 to deal with. G20 has already taken cognizance of this fact and has come up with the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) framework.

Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) refers to tax planning strategies used by multinational enterprises that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to avoid paying tax.

Going further, this framework needs to be strengthened to deal with challenges from spread of Global Supply chains and expanding E-Commerce

4.) New Digital Technologies

Innovations in digital technologies are rapid and spreading faster across the world.

The benefits of digital technologies for economic growth and social development are well-known, there are certain issues such as privacy, data security and digital governance which are to be properly understood

Hence, India is working with these countries to tackle the vulnerabilities, and ethical issues arising out of such technologies.

Narendra Modi : An Unstoppable Leader

G20 Countries List:

India
America
Argentina
Japan
republic of Korea
Australia
Brazil
Germany
Mexico
Canada
China
Russia
France
Saudi Arab
South Africa
Turkey
Indonesia
United Kingdom
Italy
European Union
African Union

India passes the gavel to Brazil. We have unwavering faith that they will lead with dedication, vision and will further global unity as well as prosperity. India assures all possible cooperation to Brazil during their upcoming G20 Presidency.

#G20