G-20 an acid test for PM Modi

As New Delhi is all set to host the annual G-20 summit this weekend it gets an opportunity to take stock of India’s performance as this year’s chair of the powerful global economic forum.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India seeks to prove that it can shine on the global stage, pushing back criticism from both foreign and domestic sources.

India also aims to leverage its growing global footprint to serve as a bridge between wealthy economies and the global south. India has put some of the global South’s most pressing challenges; food insecurity, climate change, debt at the top of G-20 meeting agendas this year.

Of course, India also sees its G-20 presidency as a public relations tool to project its global influence and to distract from the country’s domestic problems.

In May, it hosted a G-20 tourism summit in Jammu-Kashmir, aiming to convey a sense of normalcy in the region, despite state repression and it was met with several G-20 members abstaining from the event.

India’s G-20 duties have also conveniently allowed the government to direct the attention away from ethnic violence in the northeastern state of Manipur which is yet to normalise, as well as recent communal unrest near New Delhi, including in the city of Gurugram, home to the offices of dozens of Fortune 500 companies.

The true success of India’s G-20 presidency, which ends in December, will be judged by the outcome of the summit this weekend and whether it produces a joint statement from the membership.

But with the G-20 creaking under the weight of great-power competition, getting all G-20 members to sign a joint statement will be a tall order. Putting it bluntly, no key G-20 events held under India’s leadership have reached a consensus so far.

For example, France won’t sign a document at the summit that doesn’t condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while Russia will not endorse a document that does.

The absence of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping will make the chances of consensus even slimmer. Their representatives lack the authority to make such compromises or concessions.

There are currently over 700 live conflicts happening around the world, some of which initiated by the very leaders coming together at this summit.

This collective group of 20 economies (consisting of diverse democratic, semi-authoritarian and authoritarian regimes), accounts for around 80% of gross world product (GWP), 75% of international trade, twothirds of the global population, and 60% of the world’s land area.

Collectively, the G20 is responsible for around 75% of global greenhouse gases (GHGs) including land use change and forestry.

Over Rs 4,100 crore was spent on sprucing up New Delhi for the summit, according to government records on expenses related to the two-day event.

According to the records, the expenses were categorised broadly under around 12 categories. Security, among the most significant components of G20 preparations, was among the most prominent items on the list of expenditure in addition to the maintenance of roads, footpaths, street signage and lighting.

The central government has incurred an expenditure of Rs 50, 64, 84,996 on outdoor advertisements related to India’s G20 presidency from December 2022 to April 2023.

The seventh-highest amount owed by the central government is Rs 1.28 crore to a Mumbai-based company called Signpost India Private Ltd.

Signpost is linked to a man named Devang Dave, former national social media head of the BJP’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. Dave is now a member of the BJP’s campaign committee in Maharashtra.

Lotus, the symbol of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has adorned India’s G-20 publicity linking the summit to PM Modi’s own personal brand, much to the scathing criticism from his political rivals.

India’s best hope for the summit is a joint statement that coalesces around less controversial topics while using the caveat “most members” to flag areas of disagreement, as happened in last year’s statement in Bali, Indonesia.