China will take over from Germany the presidency of the Group of 20 and host the next meeting of the forum comprising most industrialised and main developing countries, including India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden are set to hold bilateral talks on Friday evening with a focus on further solidifying the India-US comprehensive global and strategic partnership.
The G-20 leaders at their last meeting at London had asked Lamy to explore ways to improve the political engagements for resolving differences on the much-delayed Doha Round of negotiations, which were meant to culminate into a multilateral trade liberalising agreement in 2005.
India on Tuesday told the UN General Assembly that the days when a few nations set the agenda and expected others to fall in line are over, underlining that its presidency of the G20 sought to focus on key concerns of the many, not just the narrow interests of a few.
In retrospect, it appeared that the bitterness of the war was still strong and the Ukrainian success in occupying Russian territory just a few days ago had added to the complexity of the situation. The positive US response to the visit, however, remains a silver lining in the dark clouds, notes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Before the Summit, US President Barack Obama did not favour the Chinese idea of a new global currency by pointing out that dollar is 'extraordinarily strong'.Obama had said, "The reason that the dollar is strong right now is because investors consider the US the strongest economy in the world, with the most stable political system in the world."
Concerned over protectionist steps taken by some countries in the wake of economic crisis, India will press the world's developed countries at the upcoming G-20 Summit to desist from trade barriers and ensure that flow of funds for development do not suffer.
India no longer needs big ticket reforms but small and basic ones to drive the growth forward, Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran said on Monday. Addressing the media after the Economic Survey 2023-24 presented in Parliament, Nageswaran said there is a need to pursue all possible approaches without any ideological orientation. "In terms of the kind of reforms that we need to do, it is no longer big-ticket reforms that dominate your front pages but more about grunt works.
The agreement on sharing of financial information is a distinct and welcome break from its trend.
From India's neighbourhood and extended neighbourhood, presidents of Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Iran, Seychelles and prime ministers of Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Mauritius have sent congratulatory greetings to Modi.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is among the top world leaders who have been invited for the Second G20 Summit to be held in London in April, which will discuss ways and means to reinvigorate growth in the wake of the global economic crisis.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is among 31 world leaders whose personal details were inadvertently compromised at the G20 summit held in Australia last year, a media report said on Monday.
On Tuesday, the current lot of G20 visitors toured three colonial landmarks in south Mumbai -- the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation's heritage building headquarters, the magnificent Gateway of India and the Taj Palace hotel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the United Nations Security Council that 'we have to prepare' the second peace summit to end the Russia-Ukraine war 'altogether' and he has invited India and other countries to join the peace process.
Canada on Monday said the earliest possible departure of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation from the national capital is Tuesday late afternoon and that the country's armed forces are continuing with their best efforts to bring them back home.
The unease in India-Canada ties was on display when Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday responded to a congratulatory message from his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau and said New Delhi looks forward to working with Ottawa based on mutual understanding and respect for 'each other's concerns'.
Rediff.com brings for you some behind-the-scenes moments from the G-20 summit
India and Canada have mutually beneficial political and economic linkages. The two countries should get together and find a solution. The expulsion war should, in the meantime, be a guarantee against any deterioration of the situation, asserts Ambassador T P Sreenivasan, the first Indian head of mission to be ever expelled by any country.
Modi said this is the time for peace and brotherhood, and time to move forward together.
Modi said New Delhi has emphasised on dialogue and diplomacy along with restraint to deal with the situation arising out of the Hamas-Israel conflict.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India's economic growth is a 'natural by-product' of his nine-year-old government's political stability, as he expressed optimism that it will be a developed nation by 2047 with 'corruption, casteism and communalism' having no place in our national life.
Various options, including expanding the scope of some of the existing tools, were being considered to provide a financial safety net.
The United Nations considers requests from countries to change their names as and when the world body receives them, a top United Nations official has said, amid a row over President Droupadi Murmu's G20 dinner invites referring to her as 'President of Bharat' instead of 'President of India'.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs International, JP Morgan Securities, Morgan Stanley, Nomura and UBS have confirmed their commitment to the FSA Rule and the supporting Code on remuneration practices. These were published in August and would come into force on January 1, 2010 (and cover payments for performance year 2009).
India is an 'extraordinarily important' economy and an 'important partner' of Canada in a range of sectors including fighting climate change and creating economic growth, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday.
Moody's Ratings on Tuesday said India's growing water shortage can disrupt farm and industry sectors and is detrimental to the credit health of the sovereign as rising food inflation and decline in income may spark social unrest. It said decreases in water supply can disrupt agricultural production and industrial operations, resulting in inflation in food prices and hence can be detrimental to credit health of sectors that heavily consume water, such as coal power generators and steel-makers.
Global rating agency Moody's on Monday raised India's growth forecast for 2024 calendar year to 6.8 per cent, from 6.1 per cent estimated earlier, on the back of 'stronger-than-expected' economic data of 2023 and fading global economic headwinds. India's real GDP expanded 8.4 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2023, resulting in a 7.7 per cent growth for full-year 2023. Capital spending by the government and strong manufacturing activity have meaningfully contributed to the robust growth outcomes in 2023, Moody's Investors Service said.
'Trump's disregard for norms and institutions could prove very costly for America's social fabric.'
'You know the kind of force involved in all of this. They are not good for the country where all of this will happen.'
His government's decision to host G-20 events across the country is an investment in capacity-building among people, cities and institutions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said, as he took a jibe at previous governments asserting they lacked confidence in people's abilities to hold mega events outside the capital, in smaller places.
'Are we to believe that coordinated moves by the Canadian and US authorities are no longer taking place?', asks Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said that he sees a new opening to engage with India on 'some very serious' issues on national security after the return of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to office for a third consecutive term.
New Delhi has reached out to Moscow while waiting for a new president in Washington. New Delhi knows well that in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent national interests, points out Dr Rup Narayan Das.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday suggested the G20 trade ministers to work collectively to ensure equitable competition between large and small sellers as there are challenges in the fast growing cross-border e-commerce. In a video message at the G20 Trade and Investment Minister's meeting here, he also emphasised on the need to address the problems faced by consumers in fair price discovery and grievance handling mechanisms. "Digitising processes and use of e-commerce have the potential to enhance market access. "I am glad that your group is working on the 'High Level Principles for the Digitalization of Trade Documents'. These principles can help countries in implementing cross-border electronic trade measures, and reduce compliance burdens.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asked his ministers to strongly refute opposition leaders on their controversial comments on Sanatan Dharma and expose them but told his ministerial colleagues to avoid the political row around the Bharat issue noting that it has been the country's ancient name, sources said.
'In terms of incentives, if you think about it, hybrids are a 20-year-old technology.'
Ernst & Young said that the report, prepared on the basis of a survey of 1,000 entrepreneurs across the G-20 nations, has substantiated India's premier position as an emerging hub for entrepreneurial activity and innovation.
'While on the one hand, terrorism continues to be a serious threat to global peace and security, on the other hand, areas such as cyber, maritime and space, are emerging as new theatres of conflict'
