By: Ms. Rupa Dutta
ManufacturingpresentsoneofthebiggestandthemosttransformativeopportunitiesforIndiatoreachtheambitious,yetachievable,targetofbecominga USD 30-trillion economy by 2047. India’s massive and skilled workforce, anemerging supply base,localizedaccess tonaturalresources, entrepreneurialcapabilities and a strong domestic market makes it an attractive manufacturinghub.
Some of the current emerging trends in industry comprises of: Tech-enablementofmanufacturing(Industry4.0),reconfiguringproductionwithfocusonIoT,3Dprinting, advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality.Besides,thereisincreasedemphasisonservificationofmanufacturing,encouragingSustainability:Greenincentives,improvedwastemanagement,building a circular economy; adoption of Environmental, Social and CorporateGovernance (ESG) ratings and Goals. Higher integration with Global ValueChains remains a critical part of this process specially in the post pandemicscenario.
It is in this context that India’s G 20 presidency plays a key role in highlightingmajor issues, given the current geopolitical and geo- economic scenario. India’spresidencycanhelpvoicingtheconcernsofglobalsouth,focusonissuesrelatinginnovation, sustainability and creation of knowledge frameworks, along with,encouragementofcurrentemergingtrendsgaininggroundintheexistingIndustrial milieu, promotion of digital public goods and enabling access of opensourcedigitalinfrastructureacross all strataofsocietyandforall countries.
The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economiccooperation.Itplaysanimportantroleinshapingandstrengtheningglobal
architecture and governance on all major international economic issues. TheGroup of Twenty (G20) comprises 19 countries (Argentina, Australia, Brazil,Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic ofKorea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Türkiye, United KingdomandUnitedStates)andtheEuropeanUnion.G20membersrepresentaround85%oftheglobalGDP,over75%oftheglobaltrade,andabouttwo-thirdsoftheworldpopulation.TheG20PresidencysteerstheG20agendaforoneyearandhoststheSummit.India’sinviteesare:Bangladesh,Egypt,Mauritius,Netherlands,Nigeria,Oman,Singapore,UAEand Spain(permanentinvitee).
India holds the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022 to 30 November2023.DrawinginspirationfromitsG20Presidencythemeof‘VasudhaivaKutumbakam’-‘OneEarthOne FamilyOne Future’.
Business20(B20)istheofficialengagementgroupofG20createdin2010underthe Canadian presidency, with the aim to galvanize global business leaders fortheir views on issues of global economic and trade governance and speak in asingle voice for the entire G20 business community. This engagement groupconducts work through various taskforces, the recommendations of which aresummarizedattheB20SummitandpresentedtotheG20leaderspriortotheG20Summit.
UnderIndia’spresidencytheworkofthe B20istobeconductedthroughseven
(7)taskforcesandtwo(2)actioncouncils,namely
Taskforces:
- InclusiveGVCsforResilientGlobalTradeandInvestment
- FutureofWork,Skilling,andMobility
- Energy,ClimateChangeandResourceEfficiency
- DigitalTransformation
- FinancingforGlobalEconomicRecovery
- Tech,InnovationandR&D
- FinancialInclusionforEconomicEmpowerment
Action Council:
- ESGinBusiness
- AfricanEconomicIntegration
Aseriesofeventsincludingthesubject-specifictaskforcemeetingswithparticipationfrombusinesses,policymakers,experts,andinternationaldiplomatsaretobeheldaspartofthisagenda.Around100meetingsandevents,bothhybridandin-personhavebeenplannedacrossIndiaandoverseasunderIndia’sPresidency.B20InceptionMeetingistobeheldinGandhinagarinJanuary,2023.
Withamottoof‘RAISE’-Responsible,Accelerated,Innovative,SustainableandEquitableBusinesses,B20Indiawouldbeanimportantforumfordiscussionsanddeliberationsonvariousissuesasclimateaction,innovation,digitalcooperation,resilient GVCs, and financial inclusion. Start-ups have become the engine forinnovation-fuelledeconomicrecovery,reorientation,andgrowth.TheStart-up20Engagement Group, being initiated under India’s presidency of G20, aspires tocreate a global narrative for supporting start-ups and enabling synergies betweenstart-ups, corporates, investors, innovation agencies and other key ecosystemstakeholders. The primary objective of the new engagement group is to developaninclusiveframeworktosupportinnovativestart-ups,throughstrategiccollaboration acrossthe G20 nations.
Given this entire perspective, some of the key initiatives assuming center stageare:
- Emphasis on Digitalisation and industry 4.0. Businesses need to discussglobalissuesrelatedtodevelopmentandIt
isimportanttoshapethefutureofGVCsinasustainableandinclusivewaytoenhanceeconomicgrowthandimprovebusinesscompetitiveness.
- Ways to create employment at scale aligned to the jobs of the future andAction plan for reskilling and upskilling of the workforce to operate in aworld focusing on adoptionofadvanced technologies
- Accelerating financing for economic recovery, particularly encouragingsupport towardsMSMEs
- Boostingeffortstowardsdebtservicingandfacilitatingfundingsupportformost vulnerable economies
- Promoting financial inclusion amongst the G20 countries, particularlythroughdigitalfinancialservices
- Sharing best practices from strategies focused on the digitalization offinancial services
- Inadditiontoenvironmentalimperatives,prioritywouldbegiventosustainable,balancedandinclusiveinvestment,balancingsocialandeconomic imperatives, keeping in mind the localand regionalcontext.
All above mentioned initiatives/ objectives require collective and coordinatedefforts amongst all G 20 nations, to take concrete steps in the post Covid World.While all countries are focusing on taking optimal steps for Post Pandemicrecoveryoftheireconomies,thenecessityoflookingatcollaborativeandcombined efforts for working towards synchronized and synergized economicdevelopmentacrossnations,imbibingtheprinciplesofcollaborationandcooperation assume criticalimportance.
WithIndia’semphasisonworldasOneFamily,asacornerstoneofitsPresidency,it is time to look forward to adoption of sustainable and positive steps enablingeconomic development across all countries and all income groups within acountry
The writer is Principal Adviser, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), M/o Commerce and Industry,
Courtesy PIB, Srinagar
