By Rahul Shrivastava: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today unveiled the logo, theme and website of India’s G20 Presidency for the Summit 2023 which is the highest-profile international gathering ever to be hosted by India. The global muscle of G20 can be gauged by the fact that its member nations account for around 85% of the global GDP, over 75% of the global trade, and about 67% of the world population.
With the release, India is set to take over the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, till November 30, 2023. The presidency offers India a unique window to get counted as a nation that matters in the global agenda on pressing issues of international importance.
While the Covid pandemic, the Ukraine war and other geopolitical events have left the world fragmented, India, led by PM Modi, is expected to make a push for “re-uniting” the world. To leverage the opportunities, the crisis-ridden world is bound to create, the Modi government has plotted a buildup that will culminate in a leader’s summit in September 2023 which is unprecedented in Indian history.
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The twin track plan includes showcasing India during the year-long G20 presidency like never before and to present to the domestic audience the diplomatic success of the Modi government in positioning India to play leadership roles at the global stage.
A lot of thought has gone into crafting the logo that was released by the prime minister. India Today had accessed exclusively the details of the logo.
India's G20 logo juxtaposes planet Earth with the lotus, India's national flower, thus representing a uniquely Indian approach to the G20 Presidency, with reverence to Mother Earth as the core value.
The logo is in the vibrant colours of India's national flag – saffron, white and green, and blue with the Earth reflecting India's pro-planet approach to life, one in perfect harmony with nature.
The lotus is symbolic of what is auspicious, pure, eternal, and detached.
The symbol of the lotus in the G20 logo is a representation of hope. pic.twitter.com/HTceHGsbFu — PMO India (@PMOIndia) November 8, 2022
The idea behind the inclusion of the Lotus incorporates the current challenges faced across the globe. A senior official in the government who was part of the decision-making process said, “Lotus is known for its ability to bloom unblemished in the murkiest of waters. It is a poignant symbol for humanity to emerge victorious from its challenges.”
Below the G20 logo is the word "Bharat", as India is referred to in Sanskrit and figures in the Devanagari script. The G20 Logo articulates the intent and focus of India’s presidency. Since the grouping brings both the developed and the developing nations together the logo underlines India’s potential to forge a consensus by suitably shaping the narrative.
The logo is the result of “jan bhagidari” (public participation). Submissions were invited from citizens all over the country through a logo design contest. A total of 2400 submissions were scrutinised. The final version of the logo reflecting a unique blend of India’s timeless heritage as well as its holistic vision for a sustainable, harmonious world is the result of inputs from 5 top entries from the contest.
The theme for India's G20 Presidency is in sync with the key template of PM Modi’s foreign policy – "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth-One Family-One Future". This again is drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text – the Maha Upanishad. PM Modi had handpicked this theme during the Covid crisis when India responded to a destructive pandemic by providing vaccines from January 20, 2021. By February 21, 2022, India had delivered around 16.29 crore doses of vaccines to 96 countries.
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Sources explained, “Essentially, the theme affirms the worth of all life – human, animal, plant, and microorganisms – and the unique value of their interconnectedness on this planet and the wider universe.”
The theme also spotlights societal and individual production and consumption choices. Enshrined in it is a call for exercising environmentally sustainable and responsible behaviour choices for a cleaner and greener future.
Govt sources say the logo and the theme together convey a powerful message of India's G20 Presidency for just and equitable growth for all as the world navigates through turbulent times. In a release the government on Monday had said that the logo, theme and website reflect India’s message and overarching priorities to the world.
PM Modi launched the logo, theme and website on Tuesday as India will assume G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022. It would end on 30 November 2023.
After the launch of the logo and theme on Tuesday the first round of discussions for the G20 comprising 19 nations and the European Union will take place on 5 December when “Sherpas” of the members will meet.
From there on, there would be 200 odd meetings on 32 sectors. Top sources in the government told India Today TV that these meetings may be spread all over the country with a special focus on some regions.
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Sources say that the 200 odd meetings will be held in 50-55 odd cities that may include top tourist destinations. “We plan to ensure that every aspect of India gets showcased as G20 meetings get held in different towns. This would provide impetus to tourism and market for locally made products in the long run, said a senior official.”
The G20 Leaders’ Summit will be held in New Delhi on September 9 and 10 in 2023. The Leader’s Summit is the climax of the G20 process through the year which includes Sherpa meetings (in charge of carrying out negotiations and building consensus among leaders), working groups and special events.
At the end of the summit the member nations are expected to sign and release a “New Delhi Declaration”. Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE will be the “guest countries” at the event
India is currently part of the G20 Troika [current, previous and incoming G20 Presidencies] comprising Indonesia, Italy and India. During India’s Presidency, India, Indonesia and Brazil would form the troika.
This creates a unique moment in the history of G20 when the troika would consist of three developing and emerging economies.
Sources say that the list of priorities of the summit has been finalised and the prime minister’s statement broadly reflects what India plans to achieve in the next one year in which India gets to decide the agenda for the G20 members on issues of global significance.
Broadly the parleys among member countries are bound to include issues related to “women’s empowerment, digital public infrastructure, health, agriculture, education, culture, tourism, climate financing, circular economy, global food security, energy security, green hydrogen, disaster risk reduction and resilience, fight against economic crime and multilateral reforms.”
The agenda and the atmosphere for the leadership summit 2023 will depend on what happens at the G20 leadership summit 2022. The G20 presidency is with Indonesia and the 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit will take place in 2022 on November 15-16 in Bali.
The Bali summit is going to focus on three main pillars for its G20 2022 Presidency namely: Global Health Architecture, Sustainable Energy Transition, and Digital Transformation. Through these pillars, Indonesia plans to continue to take the lead on ensuring equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, promoting sustainable and inclusive economic development through MSMEs participation and digital economy.
However, a major challenge of the G20 session in Indonesia is the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict which has vitiated relations between Russia and the industrialised western nations. Most of these countries are members of the G20 (members G20 – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, US and the European Union (EU)) .
If the friction within the G20 members escalates in Indonesia, India would inherit a challenge especially at a time when the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, is evoking the threat of global recession, high inflation, and an energy and food crisis. The collateral has been the slowing down of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate actions. Moreover, the world is polarised more than ever before.
India will be assuming a global leadership role amidst this challenging backdrop. Though In the last few years, geopolitical realities and India’s positioning has helped it secure meaningful engagements with leading partners, regional interlocutors and the developing world. India is a member of the BRICS consisting of Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, the QUAD- which had USA, Japan and Australia as members, the SCO which has Russia China and central Asian nations and it gets regular invites to the G7 grouping of major developed nations.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla, the Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency had recently said that “in these trying times, the international community will look for serious and credible measures to address uncertainties at the geopolitical and macroeconomic levels.”
He said, “The success of its G20’s broader composition can also contain the seeds of division. The Russia-Ukraine conflict has drawn a sharp focus on these traditional fault lines. The stresses and uncertainties the world faces call for visionary leadership and great qualities of statesmanship.”
India’s G20 team feels buoyant about the benefits that can accrue from the summit, especially because of India’s engagement expanding beyond the rich and influential nations. The last WTO summit India displayed strong potential to emerge as the voice of the developing and underdeveloped nations. Recently external affairs minister S Jaishankar had said, “India is widely being perceived as the voice of the global south.”
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