India’s G20 chairmanship carries a lot of responsibilities

The tagline “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” which translates to “one earth, one family, one future,” was
illuminated on 100 monuments from Kashmir to Kanyakumari to mark the beginning of India's year as
the G-20 presidency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated in an editorial writing that India will make its
year of chairmanship one that will be centred on “healing our “One Earth,” creating harmony among our
“One Family,” and bringing hope for our “One Future.” In India, there will be over 200 G-20 meetings.
Grand preparations for a G-20 Summit, which would bring leaders of the “P-5” countries and other
nations to New Delhi in September, will be finalised as a result of the preliminary and ministerial
discussions. India has taken over from Indonesia, which struggled to even schedule meetings and
guarantee full participation because of disagreements over the Ukraine crisis. Even at the very end, it
was unclear if all of the main leaders would show there, if they would agree to a joint photo opportunity
(which they did not), and if a joint statement would be made, which was ultimately formed. In order to
guarantee that every G-20 leader and invitee attends at the highest level, Mr. Modi will have to go
outside of India, similar to Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Additionally, officials will need to work
later into the night to come to an agreement on remarks.
Aside from symbolic gestures and logistical planning, the government faces a difficult task in holding
in-depth discussions to put together a comprehensive G-20 agenda. Officials stated that they will
concentrate on counterterrorism, supply chain disruptions, and global unification. The first G-20 summit-
level gathering in the United States took place in 2008, right as the global financial systems were in
crisis. Given the lingering effects of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the energy sanctions imposed by
the West that will become more severe this month, the economic downturns, pandemic fears, and
climate change concerns that are putting the foundations of globalisation and a connected global
economy to the test, Mr. Modi and his team's task will be equally important in 2022.
In his editorial, Mr. Modi claimed that India will create its G-20 agenda using its tradition of “collective
decision-making,” which would be achieved “… by mixing millions of free voices into one harmonious song,”
much like India's national consensus. The Government should be ready for more scrutiny on sustaining such
objectives at a time when India itself is experiencing economic hardship and social and ethnic conflicts. The
Government may discover that with great power comes great responsibility and a greater spotlight on its capacity
to translate its global dreams into the domestic landscape as well after raising the pitch on India's global
prominence as the G-20 President and its power to shape the global narrative.