In G-20 India is Chairman and in SCO India is President. In 2023, the World Leaders are to visit India two times, to attend the above two summits.
PM Modi
2023 is the year of India. 2023 is also the year of Narendra Modi.
In G-20 India is Chairman and in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) India is President. In 2023 the World Leaders are to visit India two times, to attend the above two summits.
Be it US President Joe Biden, Russian President or Chinese President. Why leave other countries’ Heads of Government like the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Italy? Quietly hectic diplomatic exercises have begun.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is to convert this into a major political opportunity to share with the Indian voters that India is Viswa Guru. A hype is therefore generated for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Domestically speaking Narendra Modi has unleashed 5G, which was successfully launched in addition to optical fibre laying throughout corners of India. Modi in his 2022 Union Budget allocated several thousand crores for animation, graphics and also artificial intelligence. These are certain areas, where the young generation got attracted and will be in position for 2024. Domestic politics. Modi dispensation would have by 2023 moved into the new parliament chambers proudly built in three years. The added attraction is Central Vista. It was Modi who took the Japanese Prime Minister to Varanasi showing the Indian culture of Ganga Aarti. At Sabarmati Modi and Xi Ping had a summit. Modi took the Chinese President to Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. This is the type of spread Modi loves to showcase Indian tradition to the world Leaders.
Politically speaking, in 2023 several state assemblies will go for elections. Opposition parties are in disarray and deeply drenched in divisions. 2014, 2019 with three Gandhis on the poll campaign trail could not cross two digits for Congress in Lok Sabha. How would the Congress with a non-Gandhi in steering the Grand old Party be sure of winning three digits, say 150 Lok Sabha seats in 2024? 2023 also slowly and steadily witness the three Gandhis turn out to be history. Regional political parties in India like Trinamool, JDU, DMK, TRS and Biju Janata Dal will claim to top positions in their own states. Can you imagine a scene? In 2024 if Trinamool Congress wrests West Bengal with 30, and Congress with Ashok Gehlot touching upon a figure of 30 Lok Sabha seats. Be rest assured. Unless Congress crosses this magic figure of 150 Lok Sabha seats, and Left parties with 60 there is no possibility of taking head on Bharatiya Janata Party or for that matter the evergreen 24×7 active politician like Narendra Modi. And that opens up a hat-trick for Narendra Modi in 2024.
The third scenario in Population and Economy of 2023.
A major scare for 2023 is looming large
The year 2023 is when India is likely to surpass China as the world’s most populous country, as per the analysis of the United Nations. In 2021, India’s population was 1.412 billion, compared to China’s 1.426 billion and by 2050, it’s expected to increase at a much higher rate. In the economy as per International Monetary Fund (IMF) assumptions, India would have overtaken the United Kingdom. And got into the 5th largest economy in the world.
Former Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla a close confidant of Foreign Minister Dr S Jaishanker is the coordinator for the G-20 summit, this is a newly created role assigned to Shringla, for organising the summit. And again taking babudom experiences, Amitabh Kant is the G-20 Sherpa of India during its Presidency year.
The members of the G-20 are– Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.
An official statement from the Government of India stated that India’s forthcoming G-20 Presidency in September 2022
India will assume the Presidency of the G-20 for one year from December 1 2022 to November 30, 2023. Under its Presidency, India is expected to host over 200 G-20 meetings across the country, beginning in December 2022. The G20 Leaders’ Summit at the level of Heads of State / Government is scheduled to be held on 09 and 10 September 2023 in New Delhi. The G-20, or Group of Twenty, is an inter-governmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, USA) and the European Union (EU). Collectively, the G-20 accounts for 85% of global GDP, 75% of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation. India is currently part of the G20 Troika (current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies) comprising Indonesia, Italy and India. During our Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika. This would be the first time when the troika would consist of three developing countries and emerging economies, providing them with a greater voice.
The G20 currently comprises:
Finance Track, with 8 workstreams (Global Macroeconomic Policies, Infrastructure Financing, International Financial Architecture, Sustainable Finance, Financial Inclusion, Health Finance, International Taxation, Financial Sector Reforms)
Sherpa Track, with 12 workstreams (Anti-corruption, Agriculture, Culture, Development, Digital Economy, Employment, Environment and Climate, Education, Energy Transition, Health, Trade and Investment, Tourism)
10 Engagement Groups of private sector/civil society/independent bodies (Business 20, Civil 20, Labour 20, Parliament 20, Science 20, Supreme Audit Institutions 20, Think 20, Urban 20, Women 20 and Youth 20).
In addition to G-20 members, there hasbeen a tradition of the G-20 Presidency inviting some guest countries and International organisations (IOs) to its G-20 meetings and summits. Accordingly, in addition to regular International Organizations (UN, IMF, World Bank, WHO, WTO, ILO, FSB and OECD) and Chairs of Regional Organizations (AU, AUDA-NEPAD and ASEAN), India, as G-20 Presidency, will be inviting Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and UAE as Guest countries, as well as ISA (International Solar Alliance), CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) as Guest IOs. Whilst our G-20 priorities are in the process of being firmed up, ongoing conversations inter alia revolve around inclusive, equitable and sustainable growth; LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment); women’s empowerment; digital public infrastructure and tech-enabled development in areas ranging from health, agriculture and education to commerce, skill-mapping, culture and tourism; climate financing; circular economy; global food security; energy security; green hydrogen; disaster risk reduction and resilience; developmental cooperation; fight against economic crime; and multilateral reforms.
From my analysing the above nitty gritty and reproduction of the Government statement is primarily to explain that the oratory skill and capacity of Narendra Modi are such that the above aspects will certainly be capitalised on by BJP and Narendra Modi to win over the hearts of electorates in 8 state assemblies in 2023.
India will take over in 2023, as the next Chair of SCO from Uzbekistan and will also host the summit. An interesting aspect is that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to select the venue of SCO may be in Bengaluru or in Thiruvananthapuram. Again there is a political catch. Though I may be re-emphasising that Modi is clever to capitalise on any opportunity to win over the voters. Modi will proudly say that BJP nor his Government does not want to concentrate every international summit only in New Delhi. Look at our vision. Modi will say that by taking such world summits to state capitals. With a view to “ Sab ka Saath and Sab ka Vikas” syndrome.