Weekend Bites Special Edition: G20, Modi, Biden, Xi, India, and Bharat

In which we munch over the week's platter of news and views

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held wide-ranging talks with US President Joe Biden in New Delhi to further economic and people-to-people bilateral linkages, asserting that the friendship between the two nations will continue to play a great role in furthering global good.
 
The two leaders expressed the confidence that the G20 Leaders’ Summit — the two-day affair starts today — will advance the shared goals of building global consensus around fundamentally reshaping and scaling up multilateral development banks. A joint statement late on Friday said the G20 summit would help accelerate sustainable development and bolster multilateral cooperation. 
 
 

The statement further said PM Modi looked forward to welcoming President Biden at the next Quad leaders' summit, to be hosted by India in 2024.
 

India's G20 presidency is a testament to its commitment to fostering unity, bridging divides and making the global table larger to ensure every voice is heard, Prime Minister Modi said in an article in Business Standard, titled, Human-centric globalisation: Taking G20 to the last mile.
 
Several world leaders are in New Delhi, and the city has got a fair bit of spit and polish to present its best face to them.
 
The ones to miss out are Vladimir Putin, Russia’s President, and Xi Jinping, his Chinese counterpart. An opinion piece says the Chinese President's decision to skip the G20 summit reflects his shifting worldview in international affairs. Another says it underlines his unwillingness to make place for an aspirational India.

 
Regardless, India is hopeful of a consensus on the communique.
 
Here is a quick look at the significant leaders attending the G20 summit in New Delhi and the places where they will stay.
 
Prime Minister Modi will hold more than 15 bilateral meetings with world leaders between September 8 and 10.
 
Leaders of the US, India, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are likely to announce a joint infrastructure deal on Saturday to connect Gulf and Arab countries through a network of railways, US-based news website Axios reported on Thursday, citing sources. The deal will also connect the rail network to India through shipping lanes from ports in the Gulf region.

 
Invites for Saturday’s official G20 dinner at Bharat Mandapam from President Droupadi Murmu, which described her as “President of Bharat”, instead of the customary “President of India”, triggered speculation about the government’s intent behind the move.
 
The use of “Bharat” in an English-language invitation for an official banquet ahead of the G20 summit sparked unnecessary controversy over the name of the country. 
 
With changes to Delhi's architectural map, a re-naming rash, and more Hindu symbolism in secular spaces, the govt is making it clear it wants a clean break with post-colonial India, writes T N Ninan.
 

Meanwhile, a United Nations top official said the world body considered requests from countries to change their names as and when they were received.
 
This is Suveen signing off. Please send tips, comments, news, or views about anything from G20 to G20 to suveen.sinha@bsmail.in.
 
(Suveen Sinha is Chief Content Editor at Business Standard)