Advancing New Delhi’s agenda for the presidency, the formidable Union Budget 2023 has strongly prioritised the G20 objectives
India brought home the much-anticipated G20 gavel in November 2022, as it assumed the presidency for the very first time since the latter’s inception. Amidst shifting geopolitical paradigms, India’s position at the forum not only represents an inclusive platform for the most populous country but also a strong voice for the entire Global South—to table the developmental priorities among member nations representing 85 percent of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and two-thirds of the world’s population.
Advancing New Delhi’s agenda for the presidency, it has designated “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future” as the background for its G20 activities, promptly kickstarting the year with its formidable Union Budget 2023 that has strongly prioritised the G20 objectives—Green Development, Climate Finance & Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE), Inclusive and Resilient Growth, Technological Transformation, Accelerating progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Women-led development, among others.
While this year's budget outlays have designated formidable funds for projects under the country’s LiFE commitments, it remains to be seen how these initiatives trickle down to the intended beneficiaries, especially the rural and semi-urban populations and how well they fare in the Indian scheme of things.Introduced by PM Modi at COP26, the LiFE agenda entails changing consumption and production patterns to more sustainable levels with the weight of India's robust population behind it. While this year's budget outlays have designated formidable funds for projects under the country’s LiFE commitments, it remains to be seen how these initiatives trickle down to the intended beneficiaries, especially the rural and semi-urban populations and how well they fare in the Indian scheme of things.
The government's largess for this initiative does not neutralise the lacunae that persist in the execution and funding of the multi-billion dollar endeavour to achieve annual production of 5 MMT by 2030.Besides these flagship programmes, the government's community-based citizen-centric Green Credit Programme is another step in the direction of good governance initiatives incentivising environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, civil society, and local bodies. However, while the exclusion of the Indian government's claim to fame, the PM Ujjwala scheme—a centrally-funded promoting subsidised cooking gas among the rural population, primarily to safeguard women and households from hitherto used coal and wood—in this year's Budget is a missed opportunity to further its inclusive agenda; the GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme with a seed investment of US$1.2 billion for the establishment of 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants in both rural and urban areas could be the impetus needed to explore indigenous methods for the LiFE agenda.
India is dedicated to enhancing educational and skill outcomes as well as offering everyone access to affordable healthcare in order to benefit from the demographic dividend.The NFHS-5 reveals alarming trends in malnutrition and reversing progress towards the elimination of hunger, making it tougher than ever to achieve food security owing to the pandemic. Three percent of the world's malaria cases and more than one-fourth of the tuberculosis cases are found in India. India spends just 1.26 percent and 3 percent of its GDP, respectively, on health and education. According to the Economic Survey, excessive out-of-pocket expenses (OOPE) on health are a factor in India's poverty. It recommends re-evaluating the importance of public health expenditures in order to meet the National Health Policy 2017's 2.5 percent target and help bring down OOPE from its current 65 percent share of healthcare spending to 30 percent. The Ayushman Bharat Yojana, National Education Policy, Atmanirbhar Bharat Yojana, Samagra Shiksha, and the Urban Learning Programme are some initiatives by Government of India to strengthen its human capital base. However, to reduce income disparity and ensure inclusive growth for resilient economic systems, it is essential to safeguard and invest in people's health, education, and skill-building. The pandemic has disrupted economies, health, and educational systems and is still evolving along new academic and psychological pathways. Juggling an impending recession, 200 G20 conventions and inflationary pressures while the country goes to polls next year has certainly been reflected in the government’s efforts to accommodate the country’s expectations as economic and social turbulence abound in its South Asian neighbourhood. One might not be mistaken to say that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's last full Budget in the country's G20 Presidency era could be one of India's costliest bets to put itself on the roadmap to prominence.
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Dr. Shoba Suri is a Senior Fellow with ORFs Health Initiative. Shoba is a nutritionist with experience in community and clinical research. She has worked on nutrition, ...
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Soumya Bhowmick is an Associate Fellow at the Centre for New Economic Diplomacy at the Observer Research Foundation. His research focuses on sustainable development and ...
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