Prime Minister Narendra Modi with U.S. President Joe Biden and President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Monday (November 18, 2024).
| Photo Credit: PTI

The countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis caused by global conflicts, and the G-20 must give primacy to their concerns and priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (November 18, 2024).

In an address on the first day of the G-20 summit, Mr. Modi complimented the Brazilian presidency of the grouping for taking forward the “people-centric decisions” taken at the bloc’s summit in New Delhi last year.

The Indian G-20 presidency’s call for “One Earth, One Family, One Future” continued to resonate at the Rio conversations, he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Mr. Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the leaders attending the two-day summit at Rio de Janeiro’s Modern Art Museum.

“I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis caused by global conflicts,” he said.

“So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South,” he added.

The Prime Minister made the remarks at the G-20 session on ‘Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty’.

The opening day’s highlight was the launch of a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger that has been supported by at least 80 nations.

In a post on X, Mr. Modi called the initiative “commendable” saying it marks a significant stride towards ensuring food security and uplifting vulnerable communities worldwide. “India assures full support to this effort.” In his remarks at the session, the Prime Minister said India believes in the approaches of “Back to Basics” and “March to Future” and that is why it is emphasising organic farming, popularising millets, and encouraging climate-resilient crop varieties.

Mr. Modi also called for reform of the institutions of global governance.

“And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of the G-20 to the African Union during the New Delhi summit, we will reform institutions of global governance,” he said.

Mr. Modi said the people-centric decisions taken at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi have been “taken forward during Brazil’s presidency”.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG [sustainable development goals]. We focused on inclusive development, women-led development, and youth power,” he said.

“And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South. It is clear that One Earth, One Family, One Future is as relevant at this summit as it was last year,” he added.

The theme of India’s G-20 presidency was drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of Maha Upanishad.

Speaking about India’s initiatives to deal with hunger and poverty, Mr. Modi said India had pulled 250 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years and was distributing free food grains to 800 million people in the country.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the steps taken by India to strengthen food security in Africa and elsewhere.

“Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost; 550 million people are benefiting from the world’s biggest health insurance scheme,” he said.

“Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance,” he said.

“Maintaining our focus on women-led development and social inclusion, over 300 million women microentrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit,” Mr. Modi added.

The Prime Minister also spoke about India’s crop insurance scheme.

“Under the world’s largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion U.S. dollars,” he said.

“Under the farmers’ scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers. Institutional credit worth 300 billion dollars is being given to farmers,” he said.

Mr. Modi said India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on nutrition. He said New Delhi is also contributing to global food security by sending food items to various countries.

“The main reason for our success is our approach: back to basics and march to the future,” he said.

“We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition, and food security by promoting Sri Anna or millets,” he said.

The Prime Minister said India has developed over 2,000 climate-resilient crop varieties and has started the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’.

“India’s digital public infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion. With the aspirational districts and blocks project, we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link,” he said.

Mr. Modi began his visit to Brazil after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.

G20 leaders: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the United States President Joe Biden, South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of the Federative Republic of Brazil, and President of World Bank, Ajay Banga in a group photo on the margins of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, at the Bharat Mandapam International Exhibition Convention Centre in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: ANI

On September 9 and 10, India hosted the 18th G20 Summit in New Delhi, focusing on the theme ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future.’ Food security, climate change, energy, development, healthcare, and digitalisation were deliberated upon at the global forum, formed to discuss economic and financial matters. The summit wrapped up successfully as India transferred the G20 Presidency to Brazil. This analysis evaluates India’s performance in recent decades across various socioeconomic metrics in comparison to its fellow G20 members. The G20 is made up of India, Australia, China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the European Union (EU), Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United States, South Africa, and Saudi Arabia.

Chart 1 | The chart compares the GDP per capita (in $) of 19 regions (18 countries plus the EU) between 1970 and 2022. GDP per capita ($) is the sum of gross value added by all resident producers in the economy divided by mid-year population.

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In 1970, with a GDP per capita of $111.97, India ranked 18 out of the 19 regions analysed. While Indonesia lagged behind India in 1970, it moved ahead by 2022, pushing India to the last spot with a GDP per capita of $2,388.62.

Chart 2 | The chart compares the Human Development Index (HDI) of 19 countries between 1990 and 2021. The HDI is a measure of life expectancy, access to education, and standard of living. HDI in the graph is measured on a scale of 0 (worst) to 1 (best).

India’s HDI improved from 0.43 in 1990 to 0.63 in 2021. However, despite its progress in absolute terms, India ranked at the bottom of the list.

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India’s performance has seen little relative improvement in metrics relating to health, even though there has been growth in absolute numbers. In 1990, the average life expectancy in India was 45.22 years, which was better than China’s 33.27 years. By 2021, life expectancy rose to 67.24 years, ahead of South Africa. However, India’s ranking remained the same, as China surpassed India. In 1990, with an infant mortality rate of 88.8, India ranked at the bottom of the 20 regions analysed. In 2021, the infant mortality rate improved to 25.5 and India ranked 19, just ahead of South Africa (26.4).

Chart 3 | The chart compares the labour force participation rate (LFPR) above 15 years of age in the 20 regions between 1990 and 2021-22. (in %)

In 1990, with an LFPR of 54.2%, India ranked 18, above Italy (49.7%) and Saudi Arabia (53.3%). In 2021-22, its rank slipped to 19, only ahead of Italy’s (49.4%). Notably, India’s LFPR also decreased to 49.5% in this period.

Chart 4 | The chart compares the share of women in Parliament (in %)of 19 regions (18 countries plus the EU) between 1998 and 2022.

Despite having seen several women in leadership positions, India’s relative growth in the share of women in Parliament has been slow, with many countries and the EU outpacing India. From 8.1% in 1998, the share almost doubled to 14.9% in 2022. But when compared to the 18 countries and the EU, India’s rank slipped from 15 in 1998 to 18 in 2022, just ahead of Japan (9.9%).

India has succeeded in curbing carbon emissions over the past three decades. It has been the lowest emitter of CO2 in 1990 and 2020 among the 20 regions analysed. However, its progress in adopting eco-friendly energy sources to combat climate change has been relatively slow. Most G20 nations, excluding the U.S. and Mexico, generated less than 2% of their electricity from renewables in 1990. By 2015, only 5.36% of India’s electricity came from renewable sources. India ranked 13 out of the 20 regions analysed.

rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in

Source: Our World in Data, World Bank Open Data

Also read: Explained | Is the G-20 a success for global cooperation?

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