India’s G20 Presidency To Focus On Macroeconomic Vulnerabilities, Virtual Assets: Chief Economic Adviser

New Delhi: Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) V Anantha Nageswaran on Tuesday said India’s G20 presidency would focus on key issues concerning macroeconomic vulnerabilities in view of the ongoing global turmoil, besides food and energy security. India will assume the Presidency of the G20 for one year from December 1, 2022. G20 is a grouping of developed and developing nations accounting for 85 per cent of the global GDP, 75 per cent of international trade, and two-thirds of the world population.

Speaking at a panel discussion organised by economic think-tank ICRIER, Nageswaran said India is assuming presidency of G20 at a crucial time when the world is facing multiple headwinds.

Under these circumstances, the objective of the Indian Presidency will be to focus on key issues of macroeconomic vulnerabilities in the near term, which deal with food and energy insecurities arising partly because of long standing under investment in energy infrastructure but also because of near term geopolitical developments, he said.

Also Read: COP27 Climate Summit To Test Resolve Of Nations Combating Global Warming, Inflation

Besides, he said, efforts would have to be made on evolving a global consensus to deal with virtual assets like cryptocurrencies.

The entire idea of the presidency would be to identify consensus-based solution, accelerating the scale and scope of the response of the global community, trans-border challenges such as regulation of virtual assets, dealing with cross border remittances, and also the issue of global capital flows and how to create buffers and safety nets for developing countries that get affected by spillovers from policies of developed nations, he said.

The other focus area would be strengthening of multilateral institutions in terms of governance, capital and resources as they serve development needs of countries as well as global challenges, he said. The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

It comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, US and the European Union (EU).

Also Read: Actor Bhumi Pednekar Warns About Climate Crisis, Says It’s A ‘Looming Threat To Humanity’

Talking about climate finance, he said issues like availability and terms on which such finance is made available will be part of the climate finance agenda. It is not just about securing money but also about the various terms and conditions that go with it, he noted.

The requirements are so comprehensive and onerous and may even be beyond the capabilities of well funded, well capitalised large corporate entities in developing countries, he added.

Observing that there is a need to balance the growth aspirations and climate considerations for many developing economies, he said,

We have forgotten that the pandemic, the commodity shock, and the monetary tightening in the developed world have all basically derailed the growth path that many countries would have expected at the beginning of this decade.

Also Read: World Faces 2.8°C Rise After ‘Woefully Inadequate’ Climate Pledges, UN Says

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diarrhoea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.