AIR Spotlight: G-20 Development Minister Meeting

AIR Spotlight is an insightful program featured daily on the All India Radio News on air. In this program, many eminent panellists discuss issues of importance which can be quite helpful in IAS exam preparation.

This article is about the discussion on: ‘G-20 Development Minister Meeting’.

Participants: 

• S. rangbhashyam, Anchor
• Ashok Sajanhar, Former diplomat 

Detail: 

• The Union Minister of External Affairs Dr S. Jaishankar chairs the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting which is held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
• The G20 Development Ministerial meeting will be an opportunity to collectively agree on actions for accelerating achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)and foster synergies between the development, environment and climate agendas while avoiding costly trade-offs that hold back progress for the developing countries.
• As many as 200 delegates are attending the meeting, being held in Varanasi. 
• The Varanasi Development Ministers’ Meeting takes place amidst mounting developmental challenges that have been further aggravated by economic slowdown, debt distress, impacts of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, growing poverty and inequality, food and energy insecurity, cost-of-living crisis, global supply-chain disruptions, and geo-political conflicts and tensions.
• The meeting will consist of two main sessions, one on 
  • “Multilateralism: Collective Actions for Accelerating Progress towards SDGs”
  • “Green Development: A LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) Approach”.

Outcome of the meeting: 

• India called for called for reforms in multilateral financial institutions, particularly in expansion of eligibility criteria, to ensure that “finance is accessible to those in need”
  • He cited India’s Aspirational Districts programme. The PM urged the G20 Development Ministers to study this model of development as it may be relevant as you work towards accelerating Agenda 2030. 
• India has also stressed upon a pro-planet lifestyle, recalling the launch of Mission LiFE in 2022, and also underlining the importance of gender equality and women empowerment in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• The G-20 development ministers’ conclave enhances  the Voice of the Global South Summit that was hosted by India 
  • The decisions taken at the Varanasi meeting will also contribute to the United Nations SDG Summit which will take place in September in New York.
  • The countries of Global South were severely impacted by the disruptions created by the global Covid pandemic. And, the food, fuel, and fertiliser crises because of geo-political tensions have delivered another blow. So he highlighted the need to work closely to alleviate the concern of these countries. 
• The Prime Minister also discussed the global digital divide and the steps that are required to meet the demand to curb this. 
  • High-quality  data is critical for meaningful policy-making, efficient resource allocation, and public service delivery. Therefore, “the democratisation of technology is a crucial tool to help bridge the data divide”.

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