India is currently celebrating its 75th year as an independent nation. The Indian Government’s ‘Azadi Ki Amrit Mahotsav’ initiative – a wide-ranging commemoration of the country’s achievements, growth and leadership across sectors – was launched in March 2021, marking the start of a 75-week countdown to the 75th anniversary of India’s independence. The celebrations will conclude a year later on 15 August 2023.
The observance of ‘India @ 75’ coincides with India’s forthcoming presidency of the G20, a strategic multilateral platform connecting the world’s major developed and emerging economies. Together, the G20 members represent more than 80% of the world’s GDP, 75% of international trade, and 60% of the global population. In December 2022, India will assume the G20 presidency for a period of one year, during which it will set the G20 agenda, conduct negotiations and consensus-building activities with other members, and organise the Leaders’ Summit in 2023.
At 75, therefore, India will lead the G20 for the first time – a further recognition of the country’s emergence on the world stage as a key geoeconomic and geopolitical actor.
India has participated actively in G20 processes in the Finance and Sherpa tracks. Its support for global cooperation, economic stability and inclusive, sustainable growth is in keeping with its national goals and the values it shares with other G20 members. In 2021, India’s G20 Sherpa had stated: ‘For the next few years, developing countries like ours will be leading the organisation – Indonesia next year, followed by India. It is a unique opportunity for all of us to inject a more inclusive and equitable agenda at the G20.’ Indeed, the recent shift in focus to the Global South testifies to the growing influence of emerging economies like India in directing international development cooperation and strengthening multilateralism.
Programme
3 August
18:15 -18:45 | Registration
18:45 - 19:00 | Curtain Raiser Address | “India at the G20: Ideas to Implementation”
Sunjoy Joshi, Chairman, Observer Research Foundation
Harsh Vardhan Shringla, G20 Chief Coordinator, India
19:00 - 20:00 | Curtain Raiser Plenary | India at the G20: Ambitions, Aspirations, Approaches
Moderator:
Shamika Ravi, Vice President, Observer Research Foundation
Speakers:
Ila Patnaik, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group
Deepak Mishra, Director and Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER)
Mohan Kumar, Chairman, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS)
Arvind Gupta, Director, Vivekananda International Foundation
Rudra Chaudhuri, Director, Carnegie India
4 August
09:40 - 10:30 | Opening Plenary | Geopolitics, Pandemic, and the G20
Moderator:
Manjeet Kripalani, Executive Director, Gateway House
Speakers:
Ashok Malik, Policy Advisor, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Brig. Arun Sahgal (Retd.), Senior Fellow, Delhi Policy Group
Manpreet Sethi, Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS)
Chandrika Bahadur, Chair, Lancet COVID-19 Commission India Task Force
10:30- 11:00 | Inaugural Address | 'India@75: Blue Skies, Green Horizons'
Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa, India
11:00 - 11:10 | Tea Break
11:10 - 12:00 | Panel 1 | In Fine Fettle: Reimagining the Global Health Architecture
Moderator:
Saachi Bhalla, Senior Program Officer, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Speakers:
Shambhavi Naik, Head of Research, Takshashila Institute
Sonalde Desai, Professor, National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER)
Chandrakant Lahariya, Founding- Director, Foundation for People-centric Health Systems, New Delhi
Gagandeep Kang, Professor, The Wellcome Trust Research Laboratory, Division of Gastrointestinal Sciences, Christian Medical College
Sanjay M. Pattanshetty, Head of Department of Global Health, Prasanna School of Public Health
12:00 - 13:00 | Panel 2 | India in GVCs: Policies for Growth
Presentation of Report and Survey:
Jhanvi Tripathi, Associate Fellow, Geoeconomics Programme, Observer Research Foundation
Moderator:
Virat Bhatia, Managing Director, Apple India
Speakers:
JS Deepak, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Sanjeet Singh, Senior Adviser, Industry-I, Trade & Commerce Strategic Economic Dialogue, Economics, Finance & Disinvestment, Niti Aayog
Nitin Pai, Co-Founder and Director, Takshashila Institute
Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
Mihir Sharma, Director, Economy and Growth Programme, Observer Research Foundation
13:00 - 14:00 | Lunch
14:00 - 15:00 | Keynote: ‘G20 and the Development Imperative’
Eenam Gambhir, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Panel 3 | A Global Green Deal: Melding Climate Action with Economic Development
Moderator:
Jarnail Singh, Country Director, Macarthur Foundation India
Speakers:
Akshima Ghate, Managing Director, Rocky Mountain Institute India
Promit Mookherjee, Associate Fellow, Centre for Economy and Growth, New Delhi
Gagan Sidhu,
Director, Centre for Energy Finance, Council on Energy Environment and Water
Ritu Mathur, Senior Energy Consultant, Niti Aayog
Zeenat Niazi, Senior Vice President, Chief Knowledge Officer, Development Alternatives Group
15:00 - 15:50 | Keynote: Policy planning in the Digital Age
Sumit Seth, Joint Secretary, Policy Planning, Ministry of External Affairs, India
Panel 4 | Enabling a Digital Transformation: Creating a Development-Focused Consensus
Moderator:
James Nedumpara, Head, Centre for Trade and Investment Law, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, India
Speakers:
Sharad Sharma, Co-Founder, iSpirt, India
Arvind Gupta, Head and Co-Founder, Digital India Foundation
Suranjali Tandon, Assistant Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy
Mansi Kedia, Fellow, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations, India
15:50 - 16:00 | Tea Break
16:00 - 16:50 | Panel 5 | Financing Recovery: A New Macroeconomic Architecture
Launch of G20 Policy Briefs
Presentation and Moderator:
Mihir Sharma, Centre for Economy and Growth, Observer Research Foundation
Speakers:
Akhilesh Tilotia, Head of Research and Chief of Staff, National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF)
Anna Shotbolt, Deputy Trade Commissioner, British High Commission Delhi
Shikha Bhasin, Senior Programme Lead, Technology, Finance, and Trade, Council on Energy Environment and Water
Puja Mehra, Independent Journalist
16:50 - 17:40 | Panel 6 | Multipolarity and Multilateralism: India in the Emerging World Order
Moderator:
Navdeep Suri, Distinguished Fellow, Observer Research Foundation
Speakers:
Seshadri Vasan R Iyengar, Director General, Chennai Centre for China Studies (C3S)
Pradeep Mehta, Secretary-General, CUTS
P.K. Goswami, Deputy Director, United Services Institution of India
Indrani Bagchi, Chief Executive Officer, Ananta Aspen Centre
Shruti Pandalai, Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (MPIDSA)
17:40 - 18:00 | Tea Break
18:00 - 19:00 | Townhall | India @75: Pathways to 100
Moderator:
C. Raja Mohan, Senior Fellow, Asia Society Policy Institute
Interventions by:
Anna Roy, Senior Advisor, Niti Aayog
Shaurya Doval, Executive Director, India Foundation
Joshua Thomas, Deputy Director, Indian Council of Social Science Research; North Eastern Regional Centre (ICSSR-NERC), Meghalaya
Parth Shah, President, Centre for Civil Society (CSS)
Harinder Sekhon, Consultant, Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF)
Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, Director, Centre for Security, Strategy and Technology (CSST), Observer Research Foundation
Vivan Sharan, Advisor, Esya Centre
1900 - 19:30 | Interactive Session | Pandemic, Conflicts, and India’s Foreign Policy
Vinay Mohan Kwatra, Foreign Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
(Closed-door under Chatham House Rule)
19:30 - 20:30 | Dinner
