Hindustan Times | When India and China speak for Global South

The Global South is a vague term – it is supposed to capture a diverse group of 130-odd countries, encapsulating two-thirds of the world’s population, and covers Africa, the Middle East, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Latin America, and the Caribbean. But it seems to possess extraordinary political and diplomatic purchases for both India and China. Both are increasingly positioning themselves as leaders of the Global South. What utility such leadership implies for each, however, reveals differences. Delhi appears to view the Global South through the lens of shared interests and hopes to function as a bridge between the Global North and Global South. Meanwhile, Beijing’s outreach to the Global South is driven by an agenda to tilt the scales in its favour in terms of its strategic competition with the United States (US).

ThePrint | Delhi Declaration first step to global no-first-use treaty. India should take the lead

The text of the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration certainly adds a feather to India’s political and diplomatic cap. The declaration states that “the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”. If this is their commitment then they should agree to a global no-first-use policy. Steered by the MEA, the Declaration mentioned nuclear weapons in the section about the ongoing Ukraine War. It stated – “While recalling the discussion in Bali, we reiterated our national positions and resolutions adopted at the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly (A/RES/ES-11/1 and A/RES/ES-11/6) and underscored that all states must act in a manner consistent with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter in its entirety. In line with the UN Charter, all states must refrain from the threat or use of force to seek territorial acquisition against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”. Read the full article here.

Moneycontrol | G20 Summit: India takes its Digital Public Infrastructure success to the world

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has created quite a storm in the recent G20 meetings. For years, India’s soft power was confined to cricket, Bollywood, Yoga and Ayurveda. It now seems that there has been a powerful addition to this list. The Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman even mentioned that the inclusion of DPI into the G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan was the defining legacy of India’s presidency of the G20. Read the full article here.

Forewarned & Forearmed: Through G20 Presidency, India is at Right Position to Prevent Climate Disaster

The impacts of climate change are no longer just visible in the developing world. In 2022 itself, the effects were seen across the globe from heatwaves in India, to high temperatures in the UK to forest fires across several European nations. Most of these impacts are induced by anthropogenic activities. G20 which is a group of 19 countries and the European Union is responsible for most of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. The countries make up about 2/3rd of the world population and 80% of Global GDP. The constituents of this group hold considerable sway over the world’s action towards climate change.

How India Can Use Its G-20 Presidency To Build A Techno-Democratic Alliance

In the year 2023, India will have the opportunity to preside over one of the key international alliances, i.e. G-20. The G-20 remains an elite group of economically and technologically developed nations which control the global economy in the current scenario. India’s presidency next year offers an opportunity for the government to set critical agendas for the group. One of the key areas that India can focus on as part of its presidency can be technology and bringing like-minded states together on the technological front. Considering the primacy of technology in both the economic and foreign policy realm, it is in India’s interest to push for an alliance between techno-democracies to regulate and govern the use of critical technologies in the future.