Moment of India’s ascent to the G20 presidency 

(MainsGS2: Important International institutions, agencies and fora - their structure, mandate.)

Context:

• The moment of India’s ascent to the G20 presidency coincides with the country’s 75th year of Independence.

About the G20:

• This is a grouping of 19 countries and the European Union that sees itself as the “premier forum for global economic cooperation”-
• Began in 1999 as a sort of inclusive version of the G-7, then G-8, and upgraded from Ministerial level to Leader level summit in 2008 after the global financial collapse
• G20 doesn’t have a headquarter- the Secretariat moves from host country to host country.
• Today, G20 members account for 66% of the global population, 75% of global trade and more than 80% of world GDP.
• After Indonesia and India, the G20 will go to Brazil in 2024 and then to South Africa in 2025- marking a significant shift from the developed world to emerging economies and the global south in its leadership.

Enhance India’s prestige: 

• The presiding country usually comes up with its own policy formulation , thus, India must come up with a formulation that showcases its true strengths.
• The world needs new windows for financing climate infrastructure thus using the G20, India should press the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank Group and the Asian Development Bank to open new windows for financing climate infrastructure to support the Panchamrit goals. 
• India should use the G20 to roll-out the India Stack on the global stage as India Stack is the world’s largest digital public utility and is growing by leaps and bounds. Some of its principal components are Aadhaar, UPI, eKYC, DigiLocker. 
• If India does this using G20 as a platform, it will enable the country to be showcased on the global stage and other countries to leapfrog their own systems.

Push own agenda:

• India could use the platform to push its own agenda and South Asia’s agenda on a global scale, for example, by coming up with an alternative financial mechanism to SWIFT, which is a U.S. monopoly; and taking baby steps for making the rupee more international.
• India should leverage the G20 to re-imagine the shareholding structures of the IMF and World Bank.
• The current structures of the World Bank and the IMF are at variance with the emerging world in general and India in particular. 
• India can use the leadership to re-imagine the shareholding structure in such a way that it reflects its global aspirations and power position and also those of other emerging markets.
• The G20 would be a good platform for India to showcase the multiple and myriad aspects of its composite culture so that the world begins to appreciate the richness and cultural tenacity of the country.

Conclusion:

• The world needs an alternative to the U.S.’s soft power and culture, which have been ubiquitous for a long time.
• This can be a great moment to bring together the power of the diaspora and the power of Indian culture on a single platform.