CUTS International Washington DC Center
Monthly Brief #58, January 2023
India’s G20 Presidency: The Global South in Spotlight
 
Following on from Indonesia, India, another prominent country in the Global South will be hosting the prestigious forum, comprising the world’s largest economies: the G20. On December 1, 2022, the baton passed from Indonesia to India, Since then, India has initiated a plethora of actions and agendas under the same. Through this, India will strive to bring the perspectives and priorities of developing countries to the forefront on the world stage. In this effort, all sections of the society, which includes CUTS, will be working to further the agenda.

India’s G20 leadership is crucial for the Global South, as the G20 this year is expected to focus on a range of issues related to their growth and development, such as sustainable growth, digital transformation, climate action, employment etc. The nation has committed to working with other G20 members, to ensure a vigorous, equitable and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

It also stressed the need for strengthening international ties and cooperation to handle the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic, particularly on developing countries. It also emphasised the importance of the equitable distribution of wealth and resources, alongside a more inclusive global economic system.

Given India’s digital and technological prowess, the nation is well-positioned to lead the discussions on the role of technology in driving economic growth and development, and take the agenda forward to these developing countries in the south.

Furthermore, to make its mark as the ‘Voice of Global South’, India hosted a leadership-level summit under the same name, in January 2023, amidst the G20 proceedings. The digital conference was attended by representatives from 125 developing countries. While expressing concerns over the unforeseen situation of the 3F: ‘Food, Fuel and Fertiliser’, Ministers unanimously agreed that the world is currently under a ‘poly-crisis’: fragmented international landscape, stunted growth, high unemployment, uneven recovery, sky-high inflation, fear of recession, supply chain disruptions, and the like. All this has also set back the efforts to achieve the SDG Goals by 2030. Alas, many will be left behind.

In spite of this morose situation Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with this ambition, eyes on achieving the “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose”, by effectively utilising the G20 presidency and giving resonance to the countries and members of the Global South, which can help arrest the back sliding of the SDG Goals.
      
Pradeep S. Mehta
Editor

P.S. Amidst the geopolitical fragmentation, the years 2023-2025 provide a rare and unique chance to the Global South for G20 presidency, particularly India (2023), Brazil (2024) and South Africa (2025). As their trilateral organisation, the India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) initiative has been dormant since 2011; will the world witness their resurrection in the upcoming years? For more, please subscribe to our G20 monthly newsletter at: https://bit.ly/3YvYzew.
 
 
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How iCET dialogue can be the next chapter in stronger US-India defence, trade ties
The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) presents a real opportunity to create momentum in the India-US trade ties through an industry-focused agenda. And with the trade deal limbo, long spell without a confirmed ambassador, and geopolitical distractions, a strong iCET agenda will signal a recommitment of the US to a strong relationship with India. Both countries can use the iCET as a platform to usher in a new era of strategic cooperation.

Joint Statement on India-US Trade Policy Forum
India and the US held the 13th Ministerial-level meeting of India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in Washington, DC, on January 11, 2023. Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and the US Trade Representative Ambassador Katherine Tai co-chaired the meeting. The Ministers underlined the significance of the TPF in forging robust bilateral trade ties and enhancing the bilateral economic relationship to benefit working people in both countries. They appreciated that bilateral trade in goods and services continued to rise rapidly and reached about US$160 billion in 2021.

India-US collaborate to bolster supply chains, enhance trade ties
In recent years, the India-US strategic partnership has consolidated further. The trade relations between the two have expanded exponentially, with bilateral trade hitting a record US$157 billion in two-way goods and services trade in 2021 and the US emerging as the top destination for India’s merchandise exports. In fact, 2022 has been a rewarding year for both democracies, which saw the forging of significant new partnerships, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), and the consolidation of existing ones such as I2U2, Quad, etc.

India, US trade bodies sign MoU on boosting ethanol blending in fuel
The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the US Grains Council (USGC) on January 13, 2023 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support higher ethanol blending in India in fuel. The MoU will facilitate the establishment of a framework for cooperation covering scientific, technical, and policy aspects of the production, blending, distribution, and marketing of ethanol in a sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner, USGC said in a statement.

 

First G20 Energy Transition Working Group Meeting to commence on February 05 in Bengaluru
The first G20 Energy Transition Working Group (ETWG) Meeting under India’s Presidency will be held in Bengaluru, from February 05-07, 2023. The meeting will have over 150 participants including G20 member countries and nine special invitee guest countries - Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Spain. Karnataka will extend support and coordination for the meeting. In addition, leading international organisations and knowledge partners will be part of the meeting.

How India became the most important country in the Climate Fight
In the three decades since reducing emissions became a discussion point on the global stage, analysts have portrayed the US, China, and Europe as the most critical targets for cutting pollution. But as the curve finally begins to bend in those places, it’s become clear that India will soon be the most important country in the climate change effort. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates India needs US$1.4 trillion in additional investment in coming decades to align its energy system with global climate targets; that will very likely require reforms at international lenders like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to facilitate the flow of money.
 
How India can push the climate finance agenda at G20
G20 Presidency is a key opportunity for India to drive climate-smart multilateral development bank reforms including redefining risk appetite, revising the approach to callable capital and innovative techniques to create lending headroom. On climate finance, Gita Gopinath, Deputy Managing Director at International Monetary Fund had said, “To have developing countries adapt to climate change, to contribute to climate mitigation, they will need much higher financing. And that's a third area where concrete progress can be made”.

Can hydrogen technology be a game changer for the Indian automotive industry?
The Government of India recently announced the Hydrogen Mission and has provided significant outlays. That brings the total tally of countries launching hydrogen missions to 43, covering a very large part of the global population. So certainly, hydrogen is here and now! When we address the question of how hydrogen will be a ‘game-changer’, we really need to answer a set of questions. What is the current game? And what needs to change in that game? What are the key components or building blocks of hydrogen technology? Will this technology be safe? Will it be cost-effective especially for the Indian market? What could be the contours of the new game and what does it mean to us here in India or to the world?.

 

Making G20 Truly Inclusive - Permanent Seat for African Union
Right from the moment India assumed the Presidency of the G20, it has consistently maintained that it will take the “Global South”, along in its quest to drive an agenda which is “Inclusive”, “Impactful” and “Action Oriented”. Other G20 members have also argued for G20 to address concerns of the developing world. The African Union (AU), which has representation of 55 countries, must be accorded a permanent place in major multilateral forums. While India has extended an invitation to the AU chair among other international invitees, the time has come to revamp the G20’s structure to make it “truly representative”.

India to take up development issues facing Global South at G20 Meetings
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India will take up developmental issues of the Global South at the meetings of the G20 countries emphasising that there should not be any first world or third world, but only one world having a common future. She further said that India will use the G20 Presidency to encourage collective solutions to deal with the numerous challenges facing the world, like economic slowdown, rising inflation, threat of resurgence of pandemic and risks emerging from geopolitical conflicts.

Reinventing the Indo-Pacific
Until a few years ago, the term ‘Indo-Pacific’ (Paywall) was hardly uttered in international affairs. Now many countries have adopted so-called Indo-Pacific strategies, including America, Australia, Britain, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and even Mongolia. The main Asian holdout is China, which scorns the phrase. That is a key to understand what the Indo-Pacific is all about.

'Together with India and Australia...’: US, Japan promise to make QUAD a force for good
In a joint statement, Japan and the US on January 14, 2023 promised to ensure QUAD remains a "force for good". The statement read, "Together with Australia and India, we will ensure the QUAD continues to be a force for good, committed to bringing benefits to the region by delivering results on global health, cyber security, climate, emerging technologies and  maritime domain awareness".

 

The US and India are stepping up tech collaborations
The Indo-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) will trigger greater cooperation. And given the central role of nodal organisations, it can lead to improved technology diplomacy. In May 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the US President Joe Biden formally launched an India-US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (Paywall). The initiative is led by the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) in India and the National Security Council (NSC) in the US. That NSCS and NSC have been appointed as the nodal organisations to coordinate this effort is noteworthy.

The gamechangers for India's 'Techade'
India is a nation that has all the right ingredients - a digital stack, talent, infrastructure, and scale - to become the world's technology hub. We, as a nation have demonstrated the use of technology in manners that have transformed governance and democracy. Now, to take full advantage of the "Techade" (Technology Decade for India), we must invest in Research & Development and Innovation, increase spending on skill-based education, and thus aid tech transformations. This will also ensure a successful run towards becoming the global technology hub.

Kant, Nilekani to lead task force to leverage digital achievements within G20
The government has created a G20 task force on digital public infrastructure to leverage India’s achievements in the digital sphere to drive global efforts aimed at financial inclusion, healthcare and education, people familiar with the matter said on January 23, 2023. The task force, to be co-chaired by G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant and Entrepreneur Nandan Nilekani, will create a detailed map of India’s digital infrastructure in finance, health, education, data, taxation, digital commerce and mobility and shortlist key infrastructure that can be presented within various G20 tracks for adoption by other countries.
 
Joint India-US space mission later this year
Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh said stepping up cooperation in the space sector, India and the US are expected to launch a joint Earth observation project - NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite - later this year. The NASA-ISRO SAR Mission will measure the Earth's changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces and ice masses to provide information about biomass, natural hazards, sea level rise and groundwater and will support a host of other applications.

 

India's G20 Presidency 'very big deal'
Terming India's G20 Presidency a very big deal, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said the country has taken up the responsibility to host the meetings of the powerful grouping at a time when there is great economic stress on the global supply chains and strong political polarisation in the world. India formally assumed the G20 Presidency on December 01, 2022. The next G20 Leaders' Summit at the level of Heads of State/Government is scheduled to be held on September 09 and 10 in New Delhi.

Friends with Benefits: The India-US Story
The India-US Story is indeed a story of bewilderment, the first of which how a major power like the US could be so blind-sided to the realities on the ground. In fact, Seema Sirohi takes a reader effortlessly through the pages of Democratic and Republican Presidents who tried to define and manage a new relationship that had all the trappings of political minefields in both countries. She indirectly answers a somewhat persistent query that went beyond academic chatter - were Republicans or Democrats good for India?

US thanks India for continued constructive engagement on Indo-Pacific Economic Framework
US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during her meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal thanked India for its continued constructive engagement on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). She looks forward to co-leading the upcoming US-India CEO Forum and Commercial Dialogue meetings with Piyush Goyal in March, 2023. She also expressed her gratitude for India’s hosting of the engagements.
 
US has very important defence relationship with India
Pentagon Press Secretary General Patrick S. Ryder told reporters at a news conference that the US has a very important defence relationship with India, when it comes to security cooperation, defence cooperation. So we look forward to continuing to engage with the Indian leadership. He further added when we do have something to announce, certainly we will, but we already cooperate and engage on a variety of fronts, to include through mechanisms like the Quad. So we look forward to continuing to do that in 2023.
 
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