India strongly condemned the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation chief’s visit to Line of Control (LoC) from the Pakistani side.
What is OIC?
The OIC — formerly Organisation of the Islamic Conference — is the world’s second-largest inter-governmental organization after the UN, with a membership of 57 states.
The OIC’s stated objective is “to safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony among various people of the world”.
OIC has reserved membership for Muslim-majority countries. Russia, Thailand, and a couple of other small countries have Observer status.
India and OIC
At the 45th session of the Foreign Ministers’ Summit in 2018, Bangladesh suggested that India, where more than 10% of the world’s Muslims live, should be given Observer status.
In 1969, India was dis-invited from the Conference of Islamic Countries in Rabat, Morocco at Pakistan’s behest.
Then Agriculture Minister Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was dis-invited upon arrival in Morocco after Pakistan President Yahya Khan lobbied against Indian participation.
Recent developments
In 2019, India made its maiden appearance at the OIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Abu Dhabi, as a “guest of honor”.
This first-time invitation was seen as a diplomatic victory for New Delhi, especially at a time of heightened tensions with Pakistan following the Pulwama attack.
Pakistan had opposed the invitation to Swaraj and it boycotted the plenary after the UAE turned down its demand to rescind the invitation.
Earlier this year, the ousted Pakistani PM called a OIC summit which ended up without any remarks.
What is the OIC’s stand on Kashmir?
It has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s stand on Kashmir and has issued statements criticizing India.
Last year, after India revoked Article 370 in Kashmir, Pakistan lobbied with the OIC for their condemnation of the move.
To Pakistan’s surprise, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — both top leaders among the Muslim countries — issued nuanced statements, and were not as harshly critical of New Delhi as Islamabad had hoped.
Since then, Islamabad has tried to rouse sentiments among the Islamic countries, but only a handful of them — Turkey and Malaysia — publicly criticized India.
How has India been responding?
India has consistently underlined that J&K is an integral part of India and is a matter strictly internal to India.
The strength with which India has made this assertion has varied slightly at times, but never the core message.
It has maintained its “consistent and well known” stand that the OIC had no locus standi.
India asserts that- OIC has become a “mouthpiece” of Pakistan and that the organisation has been taking “blatantly communal, partisan and factually incorrect approach to issues”.
OIC members and India
Individually, India has good relations with almost all member nations. Ties with the UAE and Saudi Arabia, especially, have looked up significantly in recent years.
The OIC includes two of India’s close neighbors, Bangladesh and Maldives.
Indian diplomats say both countries privately admit they do not want to complicate their bilateral ties with India on Kashmir but play along with OIC.
Way ahead
India now sees the duality of the OIC as untenable, since many of these countries have good bilateral ties and convey to India to ignore OIC statements.
But these countries sign off on the joint statements which are largely drafted by Pakistan.
India feels it important to challenge the double-speak since Pakistan’s campaign and currency on the Kashmir issue have hardly any takers in the international community.
Banks have written off bad loans worth ₹10,09,511 crore during the last five financial years, finance minister informed the Parliament.
What is a loan write-off?
Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books.
The bank moves the defaulted loan, or NPA, out of the assets side and reports the amount as a loss.
An additional benefit is that the amount so written off reduces the bank’s tax liability.
The loans written off by the banks are the depositors’ money.
Why do banks resort to write-offs?
Recovery issues: The bank writes off a loan after the borrower has defaulted on the loan repayment and there is a very low chance of recovery. However, the chances of recovery from written-off loans are very low.
Provisioning: After the write-off, banks are supposed to continue their efforts to recover the loan using various options. They have to make provisioning as well.
Reduce tax liability: The tax liability will also come down as the written-off amount is reduced from the profit.
Who is at the forefront of write-offs?
Public sector banks reported the lion’s share of write-offs at Rs 734,738 crore accounting for 72.78 per cent of the exercise.
Among individual public sector banks, reduction in NPAs due to write-offs in the case of State Bank of India Rs 204,486 crore in the last five years.
Among private banks, ICICI Bank’s reduction in NPAs due to write-offs was Rs 50,514 crore in the last five years.
Axis Bank wrote off Rs 49,715 crore and HDFC Bank Rs 34,782 crore during the period, according to the RBI.
What about recovery of such loans?
Since the loan account is not closed in write-off, the right to recovery of the amount is not waived by the lender or the bank.
The bank or lender can try to recover the loan amount from the loan defaulter.
Back2Basics: Non-Performing Assets (NPAs)
A NPA is a loan or advance for which the principal or interest payment remained overdue for a period of 90 days.
Banks are required to classify NPAs further into Substandard, Doubtful and Loss assets.
Substandard assets: Assets which has remained NPA for a period less than or equal to 12 months.
Doubtful assets: An asset would be classified as doubtful if it has remained in the substandard category for a period of 12 months.
Loss assets: As per RBI, “Loss asset is considered uncollectible and of such little value that its continuance as a bankable asset is not warranted, although there may be some salvage or recovery value.”
US announced a “major scientific breakthrough” in the decades-long quest to harness fusion, the energy that powers the sun and stars.
What is Fusion?
Fusion works by pressing hydrogen atoms into each other with such force that they combine into helium, releasing enormous amounts of energy and heat.
This process occurs in our Sun and other stars.
Creating conditions for fusion on Earth involves generating and sustaining a plasma.
Plasmas are gases that are so hot that electrons are freed from atomic nuclei.
How is it carried out?
Three conditions must be fulfilled to achieve fusion in a laboratory:
Very high temperature (on the order of 150,000,000° Celsius);
Sufficient plasma particle density (to increase the likelihood that collisions do occur); and
Sufficient confinement time (to hold the plasma, which has a propensity to expand, within a defined volume).
At extreme temperatures, electrons are separated from nuclei and a gas becomes a plasma—often referred to as the fourth state of matter.
Fusion plasmas provide the environment in which light elements can fuse and yield energy.
Fusion Energy
The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei.
The leftover mass becomes energy.
What did the US achieve?
The US experiment uses a process called inertial confinement fusion.
It involved bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world’s biggest laser.
Why is it perceived as energy of the future?
Carbon free: Fusion Reactions could one day produce nearly limitless, carbon-free energy, displacing fossil fuels and other traditional energy sources.
Efficient: Net energy gain has been an elusive goal because fusion happens at such high temperatures and pressures that it is incredibly difficult to control.
Clean: Unlike other nuclear reactions, it doesn’t create radioactive waste.
Fusion still far from reality. Why?
Significant though the achievement is, it does little to bring the goal of producing electricity from fusion reactions any closer to reality.
By all estimates, use of the fusion process for generating electricity at a commercial scale is still two to three decades away.
The technology used in the US experiment might take even longer to get deployed.
India’s progress: ITER project
International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) is one of the most ambitious energy projects in the world today.
The idea for an international joint experiment in fusion was first launched in 1985.
In southern France, 35 nations* are collaborating to build the world’s largest tokamak, a magnetic fusion device that has been designed to prove the feasibility of fusion.
ITER is funded and run by seven member parties: China, the European Union, India, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
A teenage cancer patient suffering from T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) has defeated her seemingly incurable cancer with the help of base editing technique.
Base Editing
Bases are the language of life. The four types of base – adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T) – are the building blocks of our genetic code.
Just as letters in the alphabet spell out words that carry meaning, the billions of bases in our DNA spell out the instruction manual for our body.
Base editing allows scientists to zoom to a precise part of the genetic code and then alter the molecular structure of just one base, converting it into another and changing the genetic instructions.
The large team of doctors and scientists used this tool to engineer a new type of T-cell that was capable of hunting down and killing cancerous T-cells.
What is T-Cell?
T (thymus) cells are type of white blood cell.
They are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow.
They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer.
Also called T lymphocyte and thymocyte.
How base editing helped this teenage cancer patient?
Doctors started with healthy T-cells that came from a donor and set about modifying them.
The first base edit disabled the T-cells targeting mechanism so they would not assault patient’s body.
The second removed a chemical marking, called CD7, which is on all T-cells.
The third edit was an invisibility cloak that prevented the cells being killed by a chemotherapy drug.
The final stage of genetic modification instructed the T-cells to go hunting for anything with the CD7 marking on it so that it would destroy every T-cell in patient’s body – including the cancerous ones.
That’s why this marking has to be removed from the therapy – otherwise it would just destroy itself.
If the therapy works, the patient’s immune system – including T-cells – will be rebuilt with the second bone-marrow transplant.
Bengalurians are all set to witness the annual Geminids meteor shower.
What are meteor showers?
Meteors are usually fragments of comets.
As they enter the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed, they burn up, creating a spectacular “shower”.
Meteors come from leftover comet particles and bits from asteroids.
When these objects come around the Sun, they leave a dusty trail behind them.
Every year Earth passes through these debris trails, which allows the bits to collide with our atmosphere where they disintegrate to create fiery and colorful streaks in the sky.
What makes the Geminids unique?
Geminids is one of the brightest and most reliable annual meteor showers.
They are unique because unlike most meteor showers, they originate not from a comet, but from an asteroid, the 3200 Phaethon.
The 3200 Phaethon was discovered on October 11, 1983.
It is named after the Greek mythology character Phaethon, son of the Sun God Helios.
It takes 1.4 years to complete one round of the Sun.
As the 3200 Phaethon moves close to the Sun while orbiting it, the rocks on its surface heat up and break off.
When the Earth passes through the trail of this debris, the Geminids are caused.
Why are they called Geminids?
That comes from the constellation Gemini, from whose location in the sky the meteor shower appears to originate.
The constellation for which a meteor shower is named only serves to aid viewers in determining which shower they are viewing on a given night.
The constellation is not the source of the meteors.
The ties between India and the UK are often described as a Living Bridge, a dynamic economic force of people, businesses and ideas. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi drives forward plans to make India a developed nation within the next 25 years and the UK forges deeper trade relationships around the globe, our connections are growing stronger every day.
Background: How India-UK trade relationship taking shape in recent time?
Enhanced trade relationship: India and the UK are two of the largest economies on the planet. Economic relationship between the two is reaching new heights with an enhanced trade partnership.
Minimised trade barriers: Both have lowered several trade barriers, pledged to bring down many more and set an ambitious target to double the value of India-UK trade by 2030.
Opening up opportunities in UK: Since then, Indian firms, including established businesses and recent startups, have been finding opportunities in the UK.
Business and investment in India: British businesses in fields ranging from food to financial services are expanding and investing in India. The car manufacturer, McLaren, which has just opened a showroom in Mumbai, is one example.
FTA’s beneficial for future and mutual growth: An India-UK free trade agreement is a natural next step for both, bringing two nations with extraordinary plans for their futures closer still.
What are Free trade agreements (FTA)?
Free trade agreements are agreements between the two or more countries or trading blocks that primarily agrees to eliminate or reduce customer tariff and non-tariff barriers on substantial trade between them.
Importance of Free Trade Agreements
FTA include multiple trade aspects: FTAs cover a wide array of topics such as tariff reduction impacting the entire manufacturing and the agricultural sector; rules on services trade; digital issues such as data localization; intellectual property rights that may have an impact on the accessibility of drugs; and investment promotion, facilitation, and protection.
Great impact on economy and society: Consequently, an FTA has a far-reaching impact on the economy and society. Given this, one legitimately expects transparency and greater scrutiny of the FTA process both during and after the negotiations.
Greater market access works both ways: Prime Minister Modi has urged Indian businesses to export their products to the world with “zero-effect, zero-defect”. In other words, high-quality goods with no environmental impact. A free trade agreement between our nations could further help achieve this target. It would help Indian firms to sell to a market that imported almost £820 billion of goods and services from around the world in the last 12 months on record.
UK will aid in the ongoing India’s economic progress: The Indian economy’s future is an exciting one, with the prospect of new technologies, growing businesses and better jobs for its citizens. The UK has the skills and experience to aid this progress. A deal that’s right for both could make it cheaper and easier for ambitious Indian businesses to tap into this expertise. It is also only right that the millions of SMEs that power India’s economy benefit from a deal.
Investment in one another’s economy will multiply the opportunities: The British cybersecurity solutions firm, Telesoft Technologies, has just said it will pump £10 million into its India subsidiary over the next five years supporting a growing telecoms sector. A free trade agreement that smooths British and Indian firms’ path to invest in one another’s economy would mean such opportunities multiply.
FTA can be a force of primary economic growth in uncertain times: A free trade agreement’s value cannot be measured entirely in rupees and pounds. Covid-19’s impact on supply chains, slow global economic growth and volatile markets mean we are living in uncertain times, where free trade could be the primary force of prosperity throughout history. It will help to build the long-term security that people around the world need right now.
Conclusion
In the economic uncertainty, free trade can be considered as answer to building the long-term security that people around the world need right now. In this, the year of its 75th anniversary since Independence and its G20 Presidency, India is on a path to a new economic future. It would be great to have UK alongside on this journey, as we together can use trade to benefit our citizens and the world.
Mains question
Q. Trade between India and UK is on upward trend. Free trade agreement between the two will surely benefit both the countries. How India can take advantage of the FTA between the two?
The Indian anti-trust body, the Competition Commission of India (CCI)’s move, in October, to impose a penalty of ₹1,337.76 crore on Google for abusing its dominant position in the android mobile device ecosystem, has forced us, once again, to rethink the market power of Big Tech companies.
Background: Acknowledging the big tech company’s market distorting abilities
India did not account for network effect of big techs: When India established the CCI under the Indian Competition Act 2002, it was to protect and promote competition in markets, and prevent practices that hinder competition. However, it did not account for the network effect of Big Tech companies as a force to reckon with.
Countries are realised their market dominance and moved to transform competition law: As their market dominance increased rather exponentially, the European Union, the United States, and even Australia realised their market-distorting abilities and moved to transform their competition law.
For instance, European union’s Digital market Act: The EU’s Digital Market Act and “gatekeepers” who will enforce rules and regulations ex-ante to foresee anti-competitive practices is an example.
It is a statutory body responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 and promoting competition throughout India and preventing activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.
It was established on 14 October 2003. It became fully functional in May 2009.
Big techs and the Market dominance issue
Market dominance is natural but gets hazy when its abused: In any free economy, market dominance is natural but things get hazy when it is abused to prevent competition.
Google’s case: As the CCI says, the intent of Google’s business was to make users on its platforms abide by its revenue-earning service, i.e., an online search to directly affect the sale of their online advertising services. Thus, network effects, along with a status quo bias, created significant entry barriers for competitors to enter or operate in the markets concerned.
Fundamental role of pricing and as a determinant of competition: Predatory pricing entails the lowering of prices that forces other firms to be out competed. Amazon and Flipkart were accused of deep discounting and creating in-house brands to compete with local sellers. Only recently, the CCI raided their offices in an anti-competition probe, leading to Amazon being forced to cut its ties with Cloudtail.
Consumers consent has no value: A crucial aspect of self-preferencing beyond the search algorithms is the bundling of services, especially with pre-installed apps, where the manufacturers eliminate competition without the consumer’s consent. Apple is facing heat in the U.S. and Europe over pre-installed apps after Russia forced Apple to provide third-party apps at the time of installation.
Use of data, issue of consumer protection
Big techs self-asserted right to use, store and transfer consumers data: While the data economy has evolved, we have not dealt with its regulation as effectively. There is sensitive data stored on these platforms (financial records, phone location, and medical history). Big corporations have asserted ownership of the right to use or transfer this data without restriction.
Data greed as a motivation: While one might attribute it to efficiency barriers, the greed for data is a motivation. Further, the storage and collection of women’s and children’s data need to be dealt with more cautiously to build a safe digital place.
Market distortions lead to data monopoly and poor quality of services: Market distortion can also lead to poorer quality of services, data monopoly, and stifle innovation.
Steps to ensure a level playing field and consumer protection in the age of digital transformation?
Urgent to need to prevent market failures and mitigate possible anti-competitive act: While the competition laws address that anomaly, they are too slow to respond in complex technical sectors. By the time an order is passed, the dominant player has gained an edge — as in the case of Google. Thus, in this context, there is an urgent need for ex-ante legislation to prevent market failures and mitigate possible anti-competitive conduct.
Harmony of the competition law and e-commerce rule: For a consumer, there is a need to establish harmony of the Competition law with the new Consumer Protection Act 2020 and e-commerce rules. The new law should include a mechanism to ensure fair compensation for consumers who face the brunt of the anti-competitive practices of the Big Techs. This should ensure that the penalties and restrictions being imposed on companies also ensure proportionate compensation for consumer losses.
Ensure a level playing field for local sellers: Pricing plays a fundamental role in defining the position of any digital platform in the marketplace. It is essential to establish an ex-ante framework to ensure a level playing field for local sellers. The Government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) platform is a reliable option for these small players.
New laws and provisions for digital marketplace: There is an urgent need to contextualise the law to the digital marketplace and devise new provisions with adequate ex-ante legislation. The EU has already noted this need through the Digital Markets Act. It is time that similar legislation is adopted in India.
Prelims shot: What is “ONDC”?
Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) seeks to promote open networks, which are developed using the open-source methodology.
The project is aimed at curbing “digital monopolies”.
This is a step in the direction of making e-commerce processes open-source, thus creating a platform that can be utilized by all online retailers.
They will encourage the usage of standardized open specifications and open network protocols, which are not dependent on any particular platform or customized one.
Conclusion
Witnessing the big tech’s ability of market distortion, data monopoly and market dominance, Country’s competition laws need to be vigilant through an ex-ante framework to ensure highest consumer protection. With India now on the cusp of a digital transformation, it is essential that the country a level-playing field to ensure a fair opportunity for new-age start-ups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
A failure to examine and interpret public health problems from a population perspective is leading to ineffective and unsustainable solutions as far as complex public health problems are concerned. There is a strong tendency in public health to prioritise individual-oriented interventions over societal oriented population-based approaches, also known as individualism in public health.
Micronutrient supplementation at Individualistic level instead sustainable approach at public level: Problems such as undernutrition, for which individualist solutions such as micronutrient supplementation and food fortification have been proposed as solutions in lieu of sustainable approaches such as a strengthening of the Public Distribution System, supplementary nutrition programmes, and the health services.
Diagnosis and treatment than the solutions that modify health behaviours: Similar is the case with chronic disease control, wherein early diagnosis and treatment is the most popular solution, with little scope for solutions that can modify health behaviours (through organised community action).
Recent evidences that show individualism is preferred over population-based approach
Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY): A nationwide publicly-funded insurance scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) falls under Ayushman Bharat. It is the largest health insurance scheme in the country covering hospitalisation expenses for a family for ₹5 lakh a year. The goal is to ensure ‘free’ curative care services for all kinds of hospitalisation services so that there is no financial burden to the beneficiary.
Approach needed: What is not talked about in the entire scheme is the need for hospitalisation services per year for any population.
Approach preferred: Instead, every individual is given an assurance that if there is a need for hospitalisation expenses, the scheme will cover the expenses, highlighting the risk/probability of every individual facing hospitalisation in a year.
Individualistic response: This is an individualistic response to the problem of hospitalisation expenditure faced by populations. This becomes obvious when one examines the data on annual hospitalisation across populations.
vaccination for COVID-19 unlike other vaccinations: It was evident that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot prevent people from getting the disease but only reduce hospitalisation and deaths in the event of contracting COVID-19.
Approach needed: To effectively manage COVID-19, what was needed was to have primary, secondary, and tertiary health-care facilities to manage the above proportion of cases. This is what a population-based approach to epidemic would be focusing on.
Approach preferred: Instead, by focusing on a vaccination programme for the entire population, it is again an assurance and a promise to every individual that even if you get COVID-19, you will not need hospitalisation and not die. Even after the entire crisis, not much is talked about in terms of the grossly inadequate health-care infrastructure to ensure the necessary primary, secondary and tertiary care services for COVID-19 patients, in turn leading to many casualties.
Individualistic response: The entire focus has been on the success story that every individual is protected from hospitalisation and death achieved through vaccine coverage. Most of the deaths due to COVID-19 are a reflection of the failure to offer ventilator and ICU support services to the 1%-2% in desperate need of it. Curative care provisioning is never planned at an individual level as epidemiologically, every individual will not necessarily need curative care every time. The morbidity profile of a population across age groups is an important criterion used to plan the curative care needs of a population.
What the data on population hospitalization suggests?
Episode of hospitalization a year: Data from the National Sample Survey Organisation (75th round) show that on an average, only 3% of the total population in India had an episode of hospitalisation in a year (from 1% for Assam to 4% for Goa and 10% for Kerala the need also a function of availability). The proportion hovers around 3%-5% across most Indian States.
Population based healthcare planning is necessary: This is population-based health-care planning. Instead, giving an assurance to every individual without ensuring the necessary health-care services to the population is not really helping in a crisis.
Determinants of individualistic approach
Misconception in philosophy of public health: The dominance of biomedical knowledge and philosophy in the field of public health with a misconception that what is done at an individual level, when done at a population level, becomes public health. This is despite the contrasting philosophy and approaches of clinical medicine and public health and the evidence that support the latter and must be based on population characteristics and economic resources.
Visibility impact and mistake of judging a population’s characteristics: Health effects are more visible and appear convincing at the individual level, wherein improvements at the population level will be clear only after population-level analysis; this needs a certain level of expertise and orientation about society an important skill required for public health practitioners.
Market’s role and the effect of consumerism in public health practice: The beneficiaries for a programme become the maximum when 100% of the population is targeted. Instead of making efforts to supply evidence of the actual prevalence of public health problems, market forces would prefer to cast a wide net and cover 100% of beneficiaries. Propagating individualism has always been a characteristic feature of a consumerist society as every individual can then be a potential ‘customer’ in the face of risk and susceptibility.
Conclusion
The need of the hour is population-level planning, which means, population as a single unit needs to be considered. All forms of individualistic approaches in public health need to be resisted to safeguard its original principles of practice, viz. population, prevention, and social justice.
On December 1, India assumed the presidency of the G20 forum, taking over from Indonesia. Prime Minister Narendra Modi called it a “huge opportunity for India”
In this context, this edition of the Burning Issue will talk about the G20 grouping and India’s presidency of the grouping next year.
About G20
What: The Group of Twenty, or G20, is the premier forum for international cooperation on the most important aspects of the international economic and financial agenda. It brings together the world’s major advanced and emerging economies.
When: The G20 was created in response to both the financial crises that arose in a number of emerging economies in the 1990s and to a growing recognition that some of these countries were not adequately represented in global economic discussion and governance.
Who are the members? The G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, EU, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, UK and USA.
The objectives of the G20
Stability: The Group was formed with an aim of studying, reviewing, and promoting high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
Fiscal responsibilities: The forum aims to pre-empt the balance of payments problems and turmoil in financial markets by improved coordination of monetary, fiscal, and financial policies.
Universal Support: The forum seeks to address issues that go beyond the responsibilities of any one organization.
Policy coordination between its members in order to achieve global economic stability and sustainable growth.
Origin and Evolution
The G20 was created in response to both the financial crises that arose in a number of emerging economies in the 1990s and to a growing recognition that some of these countries were not adequately represented in global economic discussion and governance.
In December 1999, the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of advanced and emerging countries of systemic importance met for the first time in Berlin, Germany, for an informal dialogue on key issues for global economic stability.
Since then, Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors have met annually. India hosted a meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in 2002. G20 was raised to the Summit level in 2008 to address the global financial and economic crisis of 2008.
Organizational Structure of G20
The G-20 operates without a permanent secretariat or staff. The chair rotates annually among the members and is selected from a different regional grouping of countries.
The chair is part of a revolving three-member management group of past, present and future chairs referred to as the Troika.
The preparatory process for the G20 Summit is conducted through the established Sherpa and Finance tracks that prepare and follow up on the issues and commitments adopted at the Summits.
The Sherpas’ Track focuses on non-economic and financial issues, such as development, anti-corruption and food security, while addressing internal aspects such as procedural rules of the G20 process. The Sherpas carry out important planning, negotiation and implementation tasks continuously.
The Finance Track focuses on economic and financial issues. The Sherpa and Finance track both rely on the technical and substantive work of a series of expert working groups. Additionally, the thematic agenda is developed through the organization of several Ministerial Meetings, such as the Joint Meeting of Finance and Development Ministers, and the Labour, Agriculture and Tourism Ministerial meetings.
Significance of G20
Together, the G20 members represent 2/3rd of the world population, 85% of the global gross product, 75% of international trade, 80% of global investments in research and development.
These figures have remained relatively stable while the corresponding rates for Group of Seven (G7) nations, a smaller group of advanced democracies, have shrunk, as larger emerging markets take up a relatively greater share of the world’s economy.
The G20’s membership is still more representative of the current international balance of power than blocs of countries formed earlier, such as the G7.
Economic significance of G20
Include developing countries also: G20 is a platform where the Leaders committed to work with developing countries, particularly low-income countries to support them in implementing their nationally driven policies and priorities which are needed to fulfil internationally agreed development goals, particularly the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and reaffirmed their standstill commitment.
G20 provides policy coherence, analysis and practical tools to support growth and development. This helps G20 members to better target their cooperation with developing countries and can help amplify development efforts on the international agenda. It promotes inclusive societies and opportunities for all.
Coordinated work associated with G20 on human resources has helped many job-seekers with employment opportunities. The G20 members have and will continue to have, important implications for growth and development in Low-Income Developing Countries (LIDCs).
G20 plays a critical role in creating an enabling environment for inclusive global growth and development. Its work on ensuring financial stability, promoting growth and avoiding and managing crises is critical in supporting opportunities.
In turn, the increasing integration of developing countries into the global economy contributes to the G20’s objective of strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive global growth.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development also sets an ambitious, transformative and universal agenda for sustainable development efforts. The G20 is well-placed to contribute to its implementation and can maximize its collective impact.
Achievements of the G20 Group
It brought increased participation of emerging countries in global issues. It helped provide a platform for developing countries to interact with developed nations and become part of the global decision-making process.
The improvement in the regulations of the economies whose problems led to the crisis and the creation of safety nets to prevent problems in the future.
The G20 also specifically helped to provide emergency funds during the 2008 crisis and plays an important role in financing development.
Shortcomings of the Group
No permanent secretariat: Simultaneously, the informal structure of the G20, with a rotating chair and no permanent secretariat, means that agendas are determined each year by the chair and so can swing widely, and formal mechanisms to monitor follow-through on countries’ public commitments are weak.
Considered Bias: The G20 is composed of 20 large and important economies. This creates a situation in which small countries have to follow their big brothers, in order to survive.
Failed to live up to the expectations: Finance ministers and heads of state now come to the table with their hands tied, their positions determined in advance by their governments and a formal script that precludes meaningful and creative compromises.
More showoff and less efficient: Meetings have become talkfests and photo opportunities. The willingness to come together in the hostile environment of late 2008 and early 2009 has entirely dissipated. The G20 agenda utterly fails to break with the tired, broken policies of the free market.
Lack of consensus: At recent summits, countries have struggled to reach a unified consensus—the hallmark of previous iterations of the conference—as the interests of high- and low-income economies continue to diverge.
Bali G20 summit, 2022
Indonesia has focused on three key pillars in its presidency of G20 presidency:
Global health architecture: president of Indonesia Joko Widodo talked about a global contingency fund for medical supplies, building capacity in developing countries to manufacture vaccines and the creation of global health protocols and standards.
Sustainable energy transition: as part of its roadmap to reach net zero by 2060, Indonesia had slashed the coverage area of forest fires sevenfold. The country has restored peatlands and rehabilitated 50,000 hectares of mangrove forests.
Digital transformation
Opportunity for India: 2023 G20 India Summit
India’s presidency of the G20 grouping next year arguably the sole remaining effective forum for global governance presents an enormous opportunity to accelerate sustainable growth within India, in the emerging world, and beyond.
1] Underlining the need for a new framework
Redefining common concerns: First, the presumed equality that we are all in the same boat, recognized in the case of climate change, needs to be expanded to other areas with a global impact redefining ‘common concerns’
Second, emerging economies are no longer to be considered the source of problems needing external solutions but a source of solutions to shared problems.
Ensuring adequate food, housing, education, health, water and sanitation and work for all should guide international cooperation.
Principles of common but differentiated responsibilities for improving the quality of life of all households can guide deliberations in other fora on problems that seem intractable in multilateralism based on trade and aid.
2] Collaboration around science and technology
The global agenda has been tilted towards investment, whereas science and technology are the driving force for economic diversification, sustainably urbanizing the world, and ushering the hydrogen economy and new crop varieties as the answer to both human well-being and global climate change.
A forum to exchange experiences on societal benefits and growth as complementary goals would lead to fresh thinking on employment and the environment.
3] Redefining digital access as a universal service
Harnessing the potential of the digital-information-technology revolution requires redefining digital access as a “universal service” that goes beyond physical connectivity to sharing specific opportunities available.
For global society to reap the fruits of the new set of network technologies, open-access software should be offered for more cost-effective service delivery options, good governance and sustainable development.
4] Collaboration in space technology
Space is the next frontier for finding solutions to problems of natural resource management ranging from climate change-related natural disasters, and supporting agricultural innovation to urban and infrastructure planning.
Analysing Earth observation data will require regional and international collaboration through existing centers that have massive computing capacities, machine learning and artificial intelligence.
5] Collaboration in the health sector
Public health has to learn from the COVID-19 fiasco with infectious diseases representing a market failure.
A major global challenge is the rapidly growing antimicrobial resistance which needs new antibiotics and collaboration between existing biotechnology facilities.
6] Avoiding strategic competition
Overriding priority to development suggests avoiding strategic competition.
Countries in the region will support building on the 1971 UNGA Declaration designating for all time the Indian Ocean as a zone of peace and non-extension into the region of rivalries and conflicts that are foreign to it.
7] Reviving Global Financial Transaction Tax
A Global Financial Transaction Tax, considered by the G20 in 2011, needs to be revived to be paid to a Green Technology Fund for Least Developed Countries.
Conclusion
The role of G20 has become more and more fierce and integral. A comprehensive and collective endeavor is a need for an hour for the institution to live.
Also, India’s presidency next year must leave the grouping with the agility and energy to respond to new realities, and it must create a future-ready multilateralism through a novel and robust institutional architecture.
It is said that “Those who hold the pen, write the rules”. The time has come for India to both hold the pen and write the rules for more equitable global economics and governance.
