India made G20 'People's Presidency' in one year: B20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

The three-day B20 Summit India 2023 started in New Delhi on Friday. Addressing the summit, B20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said that India has taken the G20 presidency to all states, and it has made it a "People's Presidency" in this course of one year.

"Every crisis is a huge opportunity, the G20 presidency is India's opportunity to be inclusive, decisive, and action-oriented. It has hosted it in 60 cities in India and it has made it a "People's Presidency" in the course of one year. During India's G20 presidency, the key is that we'll drive for strong, sustainable, inclusive and balanced growth. The world is getting into a recession. After every pandemic, historically, the world has seen six years of protectionism... India's DPI is a unique model, we will drive digital inclusion," Kant said.

He said that one key area where consensus has been significantly achieved is "lifestyle for sustainability".

"Not just governments can bring this, it requires individual behavioural change. Therefore, we have come out with the principles of lifestyle for sustainability," he said.

He further said that the International Energy Association (IEA) stated that a mere behavioural change will lead to 30 per cent reduction in greenhouse gases.

B20 Chair, N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, said, "India's growth journey will shape the world's future".

Chandrasekaran said that there are multiple factors driving India's growth, including the PM Gati Shakti scheme, production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes, lower corporate taxes, solid digital infrastructure, and the emerging startup ecosystem.

He added that these growth drivers are helping India sustain the bullish momentum among the G20 nations.

The B20 Chair also applauded the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) for the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission.

"For many Indians, the landing of Chandrayaan-3 has made the moon a symbol of achievement, not just aspiration. It shows us what we have achieved as a nation and what we are capable of achieving in the future," Chandrasekaran said.

What is B20?

The Business 20 (B20) is the official G20 dialogue forum where global companies and business organisations participate.

Established in 2010, B20 is aimed at discussing issues of global economic and trade governance.

Each year, the G20 Presidency appoints a B20 Chair (an eminent business leader from the G20 host country), who is supported by a B20 Sherpa and the B20 secretariat.

The B20 aims to deliver concrete actionable policy recommendations by each rotating presidency to help economic growth and development. The B20 bases its work on task forces (TFs) and action councils (ACs) to frame consensus-based policy recommendations to the G20 and international organisations and institutions.

The B20 officially conveys its final recommendations to the G20 Presidency during the B20 Summit.

B20 India 2023 members:

The members of the B20 India 2023 summit are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

B20 India 2023 guest countries:

The guest countries for B20 India 2023 include Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain, and the UAE.

Theme for B20

The theme for B20 India is RAISE, which stands for responsible, accelerated, innovative, sustainable, and equitable Businesses.

Responsible business practices are ethical, law-abiding, transparent and accountable business practices that help in economic, environmental, and social development while remaining profitable.

Accelerating business practices involves sustained economic advantage to scale to unprecedented heights in an optimal manner.

Innovative business practices generate new processes, ideas, services, and products that can bring a transformational shift in the business ecosystem through technological development, research and development (R&D); and automation and artificial intelligence (AI).

Sustainable business practices include promoting economically viable, socially responsible and environmentally friendly businesses.

Equitable business practices foster inclusive growth.

Task forces and action councils

B20 India has seven task forces:

-Inclusive GVCs for resilient global trade and investment

-Future of work, skilling, and mobility

-Digital transformation

-Financing for global economic recovery

-Financial inclusion for economic empowerment

-Energy, climate change and resource efficiency

-Tech, innovation and R&D

B20 India has two action councils:

-ESG in business

-African Economic Integration: An Agenda for Global Business