Sansad TV Perspective: ‘India: The Voice of Global South’

In the series Sansad TV Perspective, we bring you an analysis of the discussion featured on the insightful programme ‘Perspective’ on Sansad TV, on various important topics affecting India and also the world. This analysis will help you immensely for the IAS exam, especially jn the mains exam, where a well-rounded understanding of topics is a prerequisite for writing answers that fetch good marks.

In this article, we feature the discussion on the topic: ‘India: The Voice of Global South’

Anchor: Teena Jha

Participants:

1. Don McLain Gill, Director for South & Southeast Asia, PMESA
2. Rahul Kumar, Roving Editor, India Narrative
3. Virendra Gupta, President, Antar Rashtriya Sahyog Parishad

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction
2. Global South
3. Significance of the summit
4. Four point mantra
5. Key outcomes of the summit
6. India as the leader for the Global South

Introduction:

• India launched the Voice of Global South Summit on January 12, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivering the inaugural address.
• This summit under the theme “Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose” envisages bringing together countries of the Global South to share their perspectives and priorities on a common platform.
• Numerous conversations at the ministerial level are a part of the summit, which is being conducted virtually. 
• More than 120 countries have been invited to participate in this Summit.
• The inaugural and concluding sessions are at the Head of State/Government level, and are being hosted by PM Modi. 
• The theme of the Inaugural Leaders’ session is “Voice of Global South – for Human-Centric Development” and that of the Concluding Leaders’ session is “Unity of Voice-Unity of Purpose”.
• In his virtual address at the Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a ‘human-centric globalisation’, one that does not create a climate crisis or debt crisis. 

What is Global South:

• The term Global South in common parlance is used for the countries which have low levels of economic and industrial development, which are mainly located in the southern part of the world and are located to the south of the industrialised, developed nations. 
• It is the regions of Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. 
• Additionally, the phrase ‘Global South’ paints a vision of the world with the historically neglected and minor geopolitical players at its centre.

Significance of the Summit:

• India, with its enormous population and enormous economic capabilities, is working to unite the nations of the Global South into a powerful front so that an action-oriented approach can be adopted for the countries of the global south. 
• The industrialization consequences, food crisis, and climate change among others have had a significant negative influence on the developing world with relatively minimal contributions to these global crises.
• There is enormous untapped potential in the growing economies of the Global South. The countries will witness significant progress if they cooperate in areas like technical exchanges, ideas exchanges, exchanging best practices in manufacturing, and other areas.
• Summit is in line with India’s G20 agenda, which is inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive.
• India is committed to utilising the G20 presidency to give resonance to the voice of the global south and to highlight the common concerns of energy security, energy justice, and sustainable energy transition so that all developing countries can gain reliable and clean energy.

Four Point Mantra:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing the summit, gave a new mantra to re-energise the world already facing a severe food and energy crisis, calling for respect and response to the interests of developing economies.
• He asked the countries in the Global South to call for a global agenda of ‘Respond, Recognize, Respect and Reform’ in order to re-energise the world.
  • “Respond to the priorities of the Global South by framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda. 
  • Recognize that the principle of ‘Common but Differentiated Responsibilities’ applies to all global challenges. 
  • Respect the sovereignty of all nations, rule of law and peaceful resolution of differences and disputes,”.
  • Reform is needed in international institutions like the United Nations to make them more relevant.

Key outcomes of the summit:

• India unveiled several initiatives to assist the Global South in areas ranging from technology to health.
• PM Modi announced the “Aarogya Maitri” project whereby the country will provide essential medical supplies to any developing country affected by natural disasters or humanitarian crises.
• India also announced that it would establish the Global South Center of Excellence for research on development strategies that could be scaled up and applied globally.
  • For instance, India’s digital public goods in fields such as electronic payments, healthcare, education and e-governance can be used by other developing countries.
• India is also establishing a Global South Science and Technology Initiative to share its expertise in fields like nuclear energy and space technology.
• PM Modi proposed a “Global South Young Diplomats Forum” to connect young officers of foreign ministries for “synergising our diplomatic voice”, and announced that India will institute the “Global South Scholarships” to allow students from developing states to pursue higher education in the country.

India- Capable leader for the Global South:

• Over the course of its 75-year journey, India has successfully positioned itself as a 21st-century powerhouse. The country’s global stature has continuously expanded and has played a crucial role in mitigating global crisis situations. 
• In addition to having one of the largest diasporas, the nation has become a powerful global leader due to technological advancements, economic potential, and improvements in social indicators.
• India has a lot to offer to the world, particularly to the developing nations of the world. The world witnessed India’s crucial role in evacuating residents from Afghanistan and Ukraine during the times of hostilities, in addition to the nation’s Vaccine Maitri, which gave medications and vaccinations to over 100 countries during the pandemic.
• Notably, India’s digital public assets like UPI, RuPay, and India stack, which are supporting such a large portion of the Indian population, can be a powerful instrument for the digital transformation of other developing and emerging countries. 
• If the Global South and India worked together, they could make significant advancements in the fight against terrorism, maritime policy, and other fields.
• In its development partnerships, India’s approach has always been consultative, outcome-oriented, demand-driven, people-centric and respectful of the sovereignty of partner countries. 
• The Indian side has made an effort to set its development programmes in the Global South apart from those of China, which can result in debt traps and financially unsound undertakings.

Read all the previous Sansad TV Perspective articles in the link.

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