Opinion: India's G20 Legacy For The World - Road Ahead For Brazil

India's year-long G20 presidency will come to an end as the baton is passed on to Brazil at the G20 Summit in Delhi on September 9-10. G20 events criss-crossed the length and breadth of the country, with 220 meetings across 60 cities in 28 states and eight Union Territories. The mega event also had over one lakh participants of 125 nationalities witness India's progress as the world's fifth-largest economy - with improved infrastructure, development in digitalisation, trade, manufacturing and tourism, and its diverse culture. All this made it a People's G20.

India took over G20 presidency against the backdrop of Covid, which created instability and volatility the world over, and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, which had global implications in the form of high inflation, shortages of food, fertilisers and energy, unsustainable debts, and supply-chain disruptions. The cascading challenges of climate change, the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the need for technological transformation and a robust digital public infrastructure, calls for multilateral institutions for the 21st century, and the imperative for women-led development - these continue to impact the global economy and community.

Despite the geopolitical hurdles created by Russia and China, India has leveraged the G20 as a platform to unite the Global South and position itself as a bridge between the Global South and the G7.