G20 Must Address Challenges Facing Global South: PM Modi

PM Modi said India's G20 theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future" is as relevant at the ongoing summit as it was last year.

Rio de Janeiro:The countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts, and G20 must focus on addressing the challenges, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. In an address on the first day of the G20 summit, Modi said India's G20 theme of "One Earth, One Family, One Future" is as relevant at the ongoing summit as it was last year.

US President Joe Biden, Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the leaders attending the two-day summit at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum. The people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi last year have been taken forward during Brazil’s presidency of the bloc, Modi said.

"I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis caused by global conflicts," he said. "So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South," he added. The prime minister made the remarks at the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty'.

The opening day's highlight was the launch of a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger that has been supported by at least 80 nations. In his comments, Modi also called for reform of the institutions of global governance. "And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi summit, we will reform institutions of global governance," he said.

The prime minister said India supports Brazil's initiative for a 'global alliance against hunger and poverty'. "The people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazil's Presidency," he said. "It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG (sustainable development goals). We focused on inclusive development, women-led development, and youth power," he said.

"And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South. It is clear that One Earth One Family One Future is as relevant at this summit as it was last year," he added. The theme of India's G20 presidency is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of Maha Upanishad. "Over the last 10 years, we have lifted 250 million people out of poverty," Modi said.

In line with the theme of the session, Modi also gave an overview of India's success in addressing hunger and poverty. "Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the world's biggest health insurance scheme," he said. "Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance," he said.

"Maintaining our focus on women-led development and social inclusion, over 300 million women micro-entrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit," Modi added. The prime minister also spoke about India's crop insurance scheme. "Under the world's largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion US dollars," he said.

"Under the farmers' scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers. Institutional credit worth 300 billion US dollars is being given to farmers," he said. Modi said India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on nutrition. He said New Delhi is also contributing to global food security by sending food items to various countries.

"The main reason for our success is our approach: 'back to basics' and 'march to the future'," he said. "We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets," he said.

The prime minister said India has developed over 2000 climate-resilient crop varieties and has started the 'Digital Agriculture Mission'. "India’s digital public Infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion. With the aspirational districts and blocks project, we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link," he said.

Modi began his visit to Brazil after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.