India is well positioned to lead the global transitions of digital and artificial intelligence (AI), energy, value supply chains, and the country’s growth journey will shape the world’s future, N Chandrasekaran, Chair, B20 India said here on Friday.
Speaking at the Summit, he said that India stands as a beacon of growth and positively stands out in the global economy, which is facing strong headwinds, tightest rate cycle in decades and record levels of public debt.
“The world is currently navigating through three important fundamental transitions. The first is the digital and artificial intelligence transition; the second, energy transition and the third, a global value supply chain transition. India is extremely well positioned to lead in all the three,” Chandrasekaran, who is also the chairman at Tata Sons, said.
With the kind of success in digital infrastructure coupled with a strong talent base, he said that it is very natural for India to make and lead this transition.
On the energy transition, he said,”Most of the energy we need over the next three decades, that’s almost two-thirds or three-fourths of the energy we need, we will have to create. So India will be creating the new energy for growth and will not be substituting the old energy.”
So that makes it easy to transition and more importantly, that makes it most exciting and economically more interesting for all investors, Chandrasekaran noted.
On global value supply chain, he said, “The current geopolitical shifts and a large domestic market in India and the global presence of companies in India and the strong talent base that we have make it very compelling for India to lead the creation of an alternative supply chain.”
He added that India has many things that goes in its favour with government’s transformative initiatives such as the public digital infrastructure PM Gati Shakti, PLI incentive schemes, Startup India, reduction in corporate taxes, which are helping the country sustain the “fantastic economic momentum that we have among the G20 countries”.
Meanwhile, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chair of B20 India Action Council on African Economic Integration, said that momentum is picking up in Africa and the Continent should become a permanent member of G20.
“Africa economic integration has been an issue which is debated in length for last several decades. It is picking up momentum, we have seen our Prime Minister deeply engaged with world leaders to get Africa Union (AU) as a permanent member of G20. I personally believe we are good to see this happen during this G20 meet that the AU becomes a permanent member,” Mittal, who is also the Chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said.
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He said Africa is the last continent of hope and they are the most populous, young continent around the globe, but equally one of the most backward parts of the world.
“It really needs to get attention and I am glad that India will be taking leadership in this particular area…60 per cent of world’s arable and yet uncultivated land is in Africa. In many places in Africa, all you need is just throw seeds and crop will grow,” he said.
Mittal said that the land is so fertile there yet even that is not being done.
“Today we are all seeing crisis that the world is going through on food production, especially with Ukraine getting out of equation of supplying wheat to African nations and many other poorer countries. Prices have soared up…just adopt Africa as a place to do agriculture and perhaps some value added agriculture, the entire world can change,” he noted.
He added that five -10 per cent of their 60 per cent of uncultivated land can dramatically alter the food chain and food ecosystem of the world.
Speaking at the Summit, B20 India Task Force on Financing for Global Economic Recovery, Chair, Uday Kotak said that countries globally would need about $4.5 trillion over the next seven -10 years to finance their development goals.
The task force in its recommendation also suggested ways for businesses to finance it. It suggested setting up of a ‘global acceleration fund’ where every business globally contributes 0.2 per cent of profit to social development goals.
