A connected world, a shared future

The Business 20 (B20) is the economic avatar of the G20 that brings policymakers, business leaders and experts from across the world to deliberate and discuss the B20 India Communique. Speaking at the B20 Summit in New Delhi on August 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong plea for the African Union to become a G20 member. He then complimented Indian businesses that helped the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) land Chandrayaan-3 successfully on the moon claiming it “a success of both science and industry.” The prime minister elaborated that though ISRO took the lead in the project, India’s MSMEs and private companies also contributed significantly to it. With its space foray, India is the face of Industry 4.0, the prime minister said.

Modi even lauded the country’s role in the increased production of Covid-19 vaccines during the pandemic, saving millions of lives not just at home but also overseas. That brings us to the role of global supply chains, which the prime minister emphasised must be strengthened. He added that India continues to play a significant role in maintaining resilient global supply chains, and made a pitch of looking at businesses beyond bottom lines. “This can be done with supply chain resilience and sustainability.”

Modi said that sustainability was both an opportunity and a business model. Citing that the UN is celebrating this year as the ‘International Year of Millets’, Modi said that the crop was not just environment-friendly but supported small farmers.

The prime minister also touched upon green energy and said we are now trying to replicate the success of solar energy in green hydrogen. He also called on businesses to switch over to green credit from the current practice of carbon credit trading. Addressing the delegates, Modi said, “Businesses can transform potential into prosperity, obstacles into opportunities, aspirations into achievements.” He then made a strong pitch among those present for consumer care over consumer rights, and suggested an “International Consumer Care Day” be observed. “If we talk about consumer care then issued related to consumer rights will be solved on their own,” he said.

The prime minister also said that the world today needed an integrated approach to deal with cryptocurrencies. The B20 Summit, he said, paved the way for collective transformation. “A connected world isn’t just about connection through technology but it is also about shared purpose, planet, prosperity and future.”

The B20 is the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community. Established in 2010, the B20 is among the most prominent engagement groups in G20, with companies and business organisations as participants. The B20 works to deliver concrete actionable policy recommendations to spur economic growth and development.

The three-day summit, which included 54 recommendations and 172 policy actions for submission to G20, started on August 25 and will end on August 27. The theme of this year’s B20 Summit is R.A.I.S.E—Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable and Equitable businesses. It is being attended by over 1,500 delegates from about 55 countries, featuring top names from the world of policy and business. Attendees included External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, World Economic Forum President Borge Brende, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Adobe Chairman and CEO Shantanu Narayen, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, RPSG Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka, among others. The B20 presidency will be handed over to Brazil at the end of the summit on August 27.

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