[Answered] Comment on the significance of the India assuming G-20 presidency next year.

G20 members currently account for nearly 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade, and 60% of the global population.  The G20 does not have a charter or a secretariat. The Presidency, aided by the countries holding the Presidency before and after it (Troika), is responsible for setting the agenda of each year’s Summit. At present, the Troika is made up of Italy (2021), Indonesia (2022) and India (2023).

Significance of the India assuming G-20 presidency next year:

• The G20 presidency offers a unique branding opportunityfor India’s recent achievements. This includes the ability to combat COVID-19 both in India and abroad through India’s vaccine diplomacy, India’s digital revolution, reshaping global value chains, etc.
• It can be utilised to transform India’s sub-optimal physical infrastructureto create an attractive investment and tourism destination, especially as several important G20 meetings will be hosted outside Delhi.
• The four democracies- Indonesia, India, Brazil, and South Africa— hold the presidency from December 2021 to November 2025. This offers a rare opportunity for synergy and solidarity to advance the interests of the developing world and to assert their combined leadership of the Global South.
• All three members of IBSA Forum — India, Brazil, and South Africa — will hold the G20 presidency consecutively in 2023, 2024, and 2025. This forum is insulated from the geopolitical pressures and can develop a cohesive plan to project the priority concerns of the Global South.
• India can provide evidence of its domestic successes, tested at the continental scale, for global adoption.
• India can factor in the perspectives of countries not represented in the G20 and advocate an inclusive approach, with pragmatic and human-centric solutions to global issues. For instance, India can demand the G20 for elevating the African Union (AU) from a permanent observer to a full-fledged member of the G20, thus placing it on a par with the EU.
• India can find a common ground for setting its G20 agenda by addressing issues of global concern.

G20 has to include objectives, vision and mission statements, a permanent secretariat, and staff to oversee commitments and ensure continuity in the agenda. The G20, instead of international commitments, can focus on domestic commitments and start implementing them.