NAGPUR :- With diversity at its core, India is fast progressing on a journey that seeks prosperity and well-being for everyone from every culture and language, leaving no one behind. India, home to one-sixth of all humanity, holds the key to the success of the 2030 Agenda, and recognises that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides the blueprint for every nation individually and collectively to recognise and effectively address the challenges of building a sustainable future for the planet and all its life. Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, an ancient Indian phrase and G20’s theme, translates to ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, capturing the Indian approach and vision towards international cooperation and Multilateralism especially on Climate issues, peace and sustainable development.
India has put the values of ‘One Earth, One Family, and One Future’ into action and created innovative and transformative models of governance and development with strong citizen ownership and collaborative multi-stakeholder partnerships. From digital infrastructure to clean technologies, from technology-enabled social protection systems to targeted support for the marginalized, India’s development story is driven by its citizens. The Indian model has innovatively blended its ancient wisdom with modern technology to fuel development that is sustainable and inclusive.
India is going to focus on accelerating the progress on achieving the SDGs, by raising the profile of development issues throughout the G20 working streams. The emphasis will be on transformative areas and transitions that can catalyze multiplier effects on all SDGs, such as — women-led development, digital transformations, and just green transitions. India’s G20 Presidency comes at a strategic mid-way point in the journey (which started in 2015) towards the achievement of the 2030 Agenda, and is being held parallelly with not just two UN key Summits i.e. the SDGs summit and the summit for the Future (to be in held in 2023 and 2024 respectively) convened by the UN, but also the beginning of Amritkaal.
India has always been a strong and vocal voice of the developing world at various international fora including the G20. India intends to bring to the fore issues relevant to developing countries during the Development Working Groups discussions this year. India has consistently raised its voice regarding the need for enhanced role of developing countries in global decision-making. Reformed multilateralism, as Hon’ble PM Modi articulated, “gives voice to all stakeholders, addresses contemporary challenges, and focuses on human welfare”. Thus, during India’s Presidency, the Development Working Group is determined to highlight the need to increase the voice of developing countries in international bodies and make them custodians of their own development journey. India’s G20 Presidency will not only belong to the G20 countries but the entire world especially the Global South.
Financing is key to achievement of the 2030 agenda goals, and there are enough reports to suggest that developing countries face many bottlenecks. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely hampered countries’ efforts towards meeting SDG targets by 2030, by restricting fiscal space, with the SDG financing gap in developing countries estimated to have increased by at least 20%. During India’s Presidency, one of the DWG priorities includes designing a strategy that will focus on finding solutions to accessing affordable development finance that “will not trap a country,” as highlighted by Hon’ble Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Fuelled by technology and public-private partnerships, India’s Digital Payments System has transformed the life of its citizens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, India was able to provide COVID-19 relief payments directly into bank accounts of needy beneficiaries in a matter of seconds. With a strong focus on inclusion, India has opened 350 million+ bank accounts since 2014, 56% belonging to women. India’s National Digital Health Mission and health insurance scheme are currently providing cover to 500 million individuals, the largest government funded health insurance scheme in the world. Today, Indian start-ups, comprising the 3rd largest ecosystem in the world, are innovating at the frontiers of technology, applying data driven solutions to deliver digital public goods to the last Indian citizen. In its belief to promote the use of ‘data for development’, India has volunteered to share many of its open-source platforms with the world and to create (with the help of the UN) a G20 capacity building network for boosting transformation in developing countries. During India’s G20 Presidency, the Development Working Group will build on these achievements by focusing on data-related capacity-building in developing countries and leverage ‘data for development’ to accelerate progress on SDGs with a multilateral and human-centred lens.
Our development model is both modern and contemporary, while being rooted in tradition and sustainability. Building on PM Modi’s mass movement on Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), India will work closely on critical enablers for climate action that the G20 Leaders agreed on at the Rome Summit, namely – affordable financing, technology transfer, and action on SDG 12, i.e., sustainable consumption and production. India is aiming to foster a G20 narrative and a global movement on promoting healthy and sustainable ways of living based on traditions and values of conservation and moderation; harnessing individual decision-making for sustainability and integrating sustainable lifestyle principles across society, so that sustainable living, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, becomes the norm for people everywhere. This would encompass focusing on promoting LiFE, Circular Economy, Green Tourism, Ocean Health, and Preserving and Promoting Cultural Practices and mobilizing resources for the same
Brief History of G20 Development Working Group (DWG)
Development Working Group has been acting as custodian of development agenda in the G20 since its inception in 2010. After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals in 2015, DWG has steered the alignment of development agenda of G20 with the SDGs. Given the nature of its work, the DWG has dealt with several different issues over the last decade depending on the priorities of the Presidency.
Brief History & Evolution of DWG:
Post the early stages of the financial crisis of 2008, it became extremely apparent that there was need for building strong mechanisms for necessary crisis coordination and this would only be possible at the highest political level. This led to elevation of the G20 to the level of Heads of States/Governments. Since then, the G20 Leaders have been meeting regularly, and the G20 has become the premier forum for international economic cooperation. The Development Working Group was one of the first of the G20 WGs to be created post the crisis in 2010 and has produced some major deliverables since then.
· In 2010 Canada, the Toronto Declaration stressed on narrowing the development gap and reducing poverty as integral to the broad objective of achieving strong, sustainable and balanced growth and ensuring a more robust and resilient global economy for all. Following this, in the same year, under the South Korean Presidency, the Development Working Group was established.
· The Seoul Consensus of 2010, along with the Multi-Year Development Plan with nine pillars carved out the broad development objectives for G20 formalising the DWG as the custodian of development agenda in G20. The G20 released the Seoul Development Consensus for Shared Growth, which attempted to add value to the development commitments, focusing on the MDGs. After the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Goals in 2015, DWG has steered the alignment of development agenda of G20 with the SDGs.
· Along with the MDGs, other critical challenges such as energy security and climate change, food security, global health emergencies and poverty were also taken up by DWG in initial years. The first few summits discussed developmental goals, with focus on the responsibilities of developed countries towards developing countries.
· In 2013, under Russia’s presidency, the DWG began the process of ensuring assessment and accountability of the development commitments. Building on the accountability initiative of the Russian Presidency, in 2014, under the Australian Presidency, the DWG established an ‘Accountability Framework’, which required the G20 members to prepare a comprehensive accountability report every three years, as well as an annual progress report. Considering that the G20 priorities varied with each presidency, the framework also has the provision for setting up an Accountability Steering Committee to support the G20 presidency in implementing the DWG accountability framework. Thus, apart from setting goals, the G20 also established an institutional mechanism for tracking the progress of the G20 members with respect to the commitments made under the DWG.
· Consequent upon the United Nations Member States adopting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015, DWG made it one of the core agenda. During China’s presidency in 2016, the G20 members adopted an Action Plan on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and issued the High-Level Principles on the Implementation of the 2030 Sustainable Agenda to guide the member countries. To facilitate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, it was decided to focus on broad themes for the SDGs in form of various Sustainable Development Sectors. The Action Plan also tasked the DWG with coordination of G20 work on the SDG Agenda thus creating a broader mandate for the DWG.
· Over the last few years, the DWG has dealt with a range of varied issues such as quality infrastructure, food security, rural youth employment, Financing for Sustainable Development, Integrated National Financing Frameworks, Blended Finance etc.
