G20 an opportunity to showcase best traditions of India: Pramod Kumar Mishra
Aditi Tandon
New Delhi, December 1
Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Pramod Kumar Mishra on Thursday described India’s G20 presidency as an occasion to showcase the best traditions of the country and said this was not a mere diplomatic meeting but an opportunity for every Indian to present India in a rightful way befitting of its stature and glory.
Delivering a keynote address at the ‘University Connect: Engaging Young Minds’ programme to mark the assumption of India’s G20 presidency, Mishra also highlighted the range of sectors including movement towards digitisation and clean energy where India could show a path to the world.
“India’s G20 is not merely a diplomatic meeting. It is a great opportunity for India and for every Indian. It is our responsibility to showcase India in the most rightful ways befitting her stature and glory. India has as much uniqueness as it has diversity,” PMO’s top official said adding that students could become rapporteurs for the event, and help with translations as India assumes the historic role.
Mishra said India had taken lead in the global sphere to spearhead the transition towards cleaner sources of energy with initiatives like the ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ and the ‘International Solar Alliance’ complemented by domestic commitment for achieving 50 per cent installed electricity capacity through non-fossil sources.
“If a country such as ours shows the way, then the world will have to follow,” the senior bureaucrat said.
Referring to the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) pioneered by India, Mishra said Indian solutions have the potential to come to the aid of the world.
“In 2021, over 40 per cent of the world’s real-time payment transactions took place through UPI. The UPI transaction value has been more than $800 billion indicating a growth rate of 97 per cent for 2021 compared to 2020.
Similarly, 460 million new bank accounts were opened on the basis of digital identity. Our evolving experience with bridging the domestic digital divide can provide valid lessons to the international community to bridge the global digital divide,” he said, terming the vibrant Indian start-up eco-system in our country as evidence “that sky is the limit as far as the youth are concerned”.
Elaborating on the nuances of Indian plans for G20 presidency including
activities such as Model G20, G20 branding in festivals, selfie contest with monuments in different parts of the country especially lighted with G20 logo, Mishra urged the youth to participate in the activities of choice and make the occasion a ‘People’s G20’.
He said universities can train students about local history and important landmarks, art-forms and other cultural traditions of their area and such students can then be a part of organising meetings and guiding foreign delegates.
“Universities can select bright students and train them in being rapporteurs of sessions. Those universities having foreign language departments may be particularly useful for providing translation related activities,” Mishra added.
