NITI Aayog Vc: Green Transition Integral to Achieving Viksit Bharat by 2047

The goal of achieving green transition goes hand-in-hand with the larger goal of becoming Viksit Bharat by 2047 and the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s mantra of Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas. The discussions during this policy workshop have generated several important suggestions for green and sustainable growth which NITI will pursue through various fora", said Vice-Chairman, NITI Aayog, Shri Suman Bery.

NITI Aayog held a 2-day G20 policy workshop on ‘A Green and Sustainable Growth Agenda for the Global Economy’ at New Delhi. The 2-day workshop discussed prospects and challenges of green and sustainable growth globally. It was designated as a side event of G20 that covered various themes related to green growth, energy, climate etc.

On the sidelines of the G20 workshop, the G20 Sherpa, Shri Amitabh Kant observed that achieving the SDGs and climate action needs an investment of about 5 to 6 trillion dollars which in turn will create business opportunities of about 90 trillion dollars. He also reiterated that there is no shortage of resources with around 350 trillion-dollar funds available globally for investment, of which 150 trillion dollars are aligned with Institutional Funds. He emphasised that we need a Global Project Accelerator Fund in order to de-risk projects.

Talking about the Prime Minister’s vision of achieving the Net Zero target by 2070, the Sherpa observed that India will play a key role in green growth and sustainable development. He also said that India’s presidency of G20 is ambitious and action oriented with most of our Ministerial meetings having finalised outcome documents.

Emphasizing the role of NITI Aayog in enabling the green transition, CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, stated that NITI has a fundamental role in creating ecosystems that facilitate the adoption of frontier technologies. He cited the successful example of transformation in the electric vehicle space where NITI Aayog played a pioneering role. Further he highlighted that the role of States in the implementation of green energy projects will be pivotal and NITI Aayog will provide the required support to States in this endeavour.

The 2-day G20 policy workshop was organised by NITI Aayog in collaboration with International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Development Network (GDN). The first day of the workshop focused on themes related to energy, climate, and growth; technology, policy, and jobs; the growth implications of a fractured trading system and reshaping global finance for sustainable growth. The second day addressed themes related to multilateralism as well as adjustment, resilience, and inclusion in an uncertain world. More than 40 global experts from diverse fields participated in these deliberations.

In the opening session, G20 Sherpa, Shri Amitabh Kant emphasised that there is a need to reform, restructure and re-design multilateral institutions in the light of contemporary critical needs.

This view was supported by the Chairman, Finance Commission and President Institute of Economic Growth, Shri N.K. Singh, in the subsequent discussion on ‘Reshaping Global Finance for Sustainable Growth’. Shri N.K. Singh said that the global financial architecture requires fundamental restructuring for adequate transition to a green economy.

Chief Economic Advisor, Ministry of Finance, V. Anantha Nageswaran, echoed the perspective of highlighting the role of multilateralism in geopolitics, citing ‘multilateralism as a requisite for a stable multi-polar world.’

In line with Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s resolve to achieve Net Zero by 2070 articulated at the COP26 Glasgow Summit, participants in the policy workshop discussed the process and prospects of achieving this goal. Member of Parliament, Shri Jayant Sinha, while discussing the subject of ‘Energy, Climate and Growth’ set the tone by emphasizing that ‘Net Zero is absolutely Net Positive’ in every dimension. He further reiterated that revamping of global financial architecture is imperative to achieve the transition to Net Zero.

Chairman and Co-founder, Infosys, and Founding Chairman UIDAI (Aadhaar), Shri Nandan Nilekani, in his keynote address highlighted the positive impact brought about by the implementation of digital public infrastructure in India. Backed by facts and figures, Shri Nilekani appreciated that financial inclusion has accelerated due to digital public infrastructure over the last 9 years. Shri Nilekani expressed confidence that India is moving towards becoming a “single, online, formal, high-productivity mega economy.”

CEO, NITI Aayog, Shri BVR Subrahmanyam, conveyed his expert insights in the session on ‘Growth implications of a fractured trading system’, accentuating the need for India to integrate with regional trading agreements.

A multitude of global experts attended the two-day policy workshop. The discussion leaders included Shri Jayant Sinha, MP and Chairman of Parliamentary Finance Committee, Sachin Chaturvedi, Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi, Peter Drysdale, Emeritus Professor of Economics and Head of the East Asian Bureau of Economic Research, Australian National University, Canberra, Chairman, Finance Commission, Shri N.K.Singh, Ashima Goyal, Professor, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research,Shri V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India and François Bourguignon, former Chief Economist, World Bank (France) among others.

Many significant suggestions were put forth for the G20 during the duration of the two-day workshop. These encompassed measures such as ensuring sustainable and transparent debt management, bolstering financial safety lines, regulating credit rating agencies for fairer assessments of emerging nations, amplifying green financing efforts, optimizing the utilization of digital public infrastructure to foster a green economy, engaging in transformative reforms of multilateral development banks, overhauling the WTO, leveraging G20 to represent the Global South, encouraging the growth of mini laterals, among several other noteworthy proposals.