External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said that India's G20 Presidency has witnessed country's focusing attention on pressing challenges faced by humanity, particularly developing nations.  Jaishankar made the remarks a day after his speech in the Rajya Sabha was disrupted due to the protest of the opposition leaders.  He issued a 21-minute statement on the recent developments of India's foreign policy on Friday.  "The ongoing G20 Presidency has witnessed our focusing attention on the pressing challenges faced by humanity, especially developing countries. This included Mission LiFE for empowering climate friendly lifestyles and the popularization of Millets to address the challenge of food security. Meetings have been held across the country in multiple cities and states," Jaishankar said.  "As envisaged by Prime Minister, we are realizing our intent to make India’s Presidency a truly national endeavour and showcase India to the world," he added.  Jaishankar spoke about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to various nations, including United States, Egypt, France, Papua New Guinea and the UAE. He also talked about the agreements and outcomes that took place during PM Modi's visit to these nations.  Jaishankar noted that Ministers of Ministry of External Affairs travelled to Gulf, Europe, Latin America, Africa, South East Asia in pursuance of India's global objectives. He said that India also received counterparts from across the world. He said that they have noticed a growing interest among partners and business leaders to be part of India's growth story.  "From all these diplomatic interactions, we notice a growing interest among partners and business leaders to be part of India’s growth story and to engage in development partnerships. India’s undertaking of greater responsibilities was widely welcomed and our views on key global issues taken very seriously. We aim to realize Prime Minister’s vision to make India a leader in democratising technology, a trusted geography and an important part of global supply chains," Jaishankar said.  He said that India is now seen as a "credible and effective development partner."  He stated that India's development partnership now spans 78 nations.  "In our travels abroad, I am glad to report that we are now seen as a credible and effective development partner. Our development partnership portfolio now spans 78 countries and the hallmark of these projects is that they are demand-driven, transparent, empowerment oriented, environment friendly and rely on a consultative approach," Jaishankar said.  "We have also been spearheading promotion of digital public infrastructure and sharing best practices in digital governance especially with the Global South," he added.  EAM Jaishankar stressed that international affairs have become "unprecedented and complex." He noted that India's people-centric policy is guided by demands and aspirations of society.  He said that India speaks as the voice of peace, security and prosperity for all.  "At a time when international affairs have become unprecedented and complex, our people-centric foreign policy is guided by the demands and aspirations of our society. Today, the world recognizes that when India speaks, it speaks not only for itself, but for many others," Jaishankar said.  "And that India speaks as the voice of peace, security, and a prosperity for all. While serving as a force for global good and stability, we have also vigorously defended our national interests," he added.  Jaishankar said that India under its G20 Presidency will host the G20 Summit in September. He stated that India's G20 Presidency has served as a catalyst to invigorate New Delhi's foreign policy. "In 2022, at the beginning of the Amrit Kaal, India assumed the landmark G20 Presidency. We will host the Summit in September. Our Presidency has served as a catalyst to invigorate our foreign policy and give more force to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat that regains its rightful place in the world," he said.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday in Rajya Sabha said that India's G20 Presidency has served as a catalyst to invigorate the country's foreign policy. He further said that India's G20 Presidency gives more force to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of an "Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat".  While giving a suo moto statement in the Rajya Sabha on India's foreign policy, Jaishankar said, "In 2022, at the beginning of the Amrit Kaal, India assumed the landmark G-20 Presidency. We will host the Summit in September. Our Presidency has served as a catalyst to invigorate our foreign policy and give more force to realize the Prime Minister’s vision of an Atmanirbhar and Viksit Bharat that regains its rightful place in the world."  Notably, India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1.  Jaishankar noted that India through its G20 Presidency has been able to focus attention on the most pressing challenges faced by humanity, particularly developing nations. India has advocated an inclusive "human-centric approach" to climate action and development.  EAM Jaishankar said, "During our Presidency, we have been able to focus attention on the most pressing challenges faced by humanity, especially developing countries. This includes Mission LiFE for empowering climate-friendly lifestyles and the popularization of millets to address the challenge of food security. We have also advocated an inclusive human-centric approach to climate action and development, as well as the use of technology to transform the lives of people."  "Since April 6, we have hosted the G20 Development Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi, the Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting in Hyderabad, the Tourism Ministers’ Meeting in Goa, the Education Ministers’ Meeting in Pune, and the Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting in Gandhinagar, Labour & Employment Ministers’ Meeting in Indore, Energy Ministers’ Meeting in Goa, Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministers’ Meeting in Chennai, and the Ministerial Meeting on Women Empowerment in Gandhinagar. As envisaged, we are realizing our intent to make India’s Presidency a truly national endeavour and showcase India to the world," he added.  Jaishankar also said, "At a time when international affairs have become unprecedented and complex, our people-centric foreign policy is guided by the demands and aspirations of our society."  "Today, the world recognizes that when India speaks, it speaks not only for itself but for many others. And that India speaks as the voice of peace, security, and prosperity for all. Our Pravasishave a renewed confidence- both in the prospects of our future, and the receptivity of our government to their needs. While serving as a force for global good and stability, we have also vigorously defended our national interests," he added.  He further said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited seven nations. He said that PM Modi made bilateral visits to Australia, the US, Egypt, France and the UAE. Prime Minister participated in the Quad and G7 meetings in Japan and co-chaired the 3rd Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Papua New Guinea.  Jaishankar noted that international affairs have become "unprecedented and complex."  He said that India speaks as the voice of "peace, security and prosperity" for all."At a time when international affairs have become unprecedented and complex, our people-centric foreign policy is guided by the demands and aspirations of our society. Today, the world recognizes that when India speaks, it speaks not only for itself but for many others. And that India speaks as the voice of peace, security, and prosperity for all," Jaishankar said.   "Our Pravasis have a renewed confidence- both in the prospects of our future, and the receptivity of our government to their needs. While serving as a force for global good and stability, we have also vigorously defended our national interests," he added. Jaishankar said that India is now seen as a "credible and effective development partner". India's development partnership now spans 78 nations. "I am glad to report that we are now seen as a credible and effective development partner. Our development partnership portfolio now spans 78 countries and the hallmark of these projects is that they are demand-driven, transparent, empowerment-oriented, environment friendly and rely on a consultative approach. We have also been spearheading the promotion of Digital Public Infrastructure and sharing best practices in digital governance, especially in the Global South," he said. 

The government will release two commemorative coins of ₹ 100 and ₹ 75 to mark India's G20 presidency. According to a gazette notification issued on July 24, the commemorative ₹ 100 coin will bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar in the centre with the legend Satyamev Jayate in Devnagari on its obverse side. It will also be flanked on the left periphery with the word 'Bharat' in Devnagari script and on the right periphery with the word 'India' in English. The reverse side of the coin will have the design of the logo of India's G20 Presidency in the centre and Vasudhev Kutumbkam will be written in Devnagari script on the upper periphery of the coin and the inscription 'One Earth, One Family, One Future' in English will be written on lower periphery of the coin, as per the notification. These features will also be there on the ₹ 75 coin. The standard weight of both coins would be 35 grams each and they will be of 44 millimetres in diameter. India's presidency of the G20 is from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. The G20 is an inter-governmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. Under India's presidency, the leaders' summit is scheduled to be held on September 9 and 10. Commemorative coins are typically issued by the government to mark a special  Source: NDTV

US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on Tuesday (local time) said that the US is working closely with India during its G20 Presidency on global economic issues. She said that the "close collaboration" between India and the US showcases how "advanced and emerging economies" can bridge political differences and make progress on shared policy objectives. While addressing the US-India Business Council India Ideas Summit on Tuesday, Janet Yellen said, "We are working closely with India during its G20 presidency on global economic issues. I believe that our close collaboration is showing the world how advanced and emerging economies can bridge policy differences and make progress on our shared policy objectives. When India and the United States work together, we can add significant momentum to important efforts." India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1, 2022. Janet Yellen stressed that debt distress in developing nations continues to pose a risk to macroeconomic growth and stability. She stated that more needs to be done to provide "timely and comprehensive debt treatments." She lauded India for supporting Sri Lankan authorities in its reform efforts. Yellen said, "We have taken steps forward on urgent cases like Sri Lanka where India's proactive actions have been critical to supporting the authorities' reform efforts. We are continuing to push for urgent action in other cases as well." She said that the US is actively working to help India attract private capital to close its infrastructure gap. She said that India and US have made collective efforts to evolve the multilateral development banks to address global challenges like climate change, pandemics, fragility and conflict. Yellen said that she looked forward to supporting American businesses in India. Janet Yellen said, "We are working together to shape the digital economy. We are collaborating with India to deliver tangible outcomes on the G20's work to enhance cross-border payments - as well as our financial inclusion efforts to connect the unbanked around the world." Yellen noted that the US has made significant progress to bolster bilateral ties with India. She stated that the bilateral trade between India and US reached over USD 190 billion in 2022. She said that the Biden administration has taken "concrete steps" to build on this robust partnership. "We have made significant progress to strengthen our bilateral ties with India. The United States is India's largest trading partner. In 2022, our bilateral trade reached over USD 190 billion. And we have significant cross-border investments and durable people-to-people ties as the two largest democracies in the world," Yellen said. The US Secretary of the Treasury has called US-India Economic and Financial Partnership a "centrepiece" of formal economic dialogue since the global financial crisis. Yellen said that she has met with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman over ten times since assuming office and stressed that this demonstrates the importance of close collaboration between India and the US India on issues spanning the macroeconomy, climate finance and financial regulation. Yellen called India and US close partners in responding to global disruptions. She said, "We have also been close partners in responding to global disruptions and advancing our shared goal of a free and open Indo-Pacific. We are working closely with India, Australia, and Japan through the Quad." Yellen said that the US is pursuing a policy called "friend-shoring" to deepen integration with its trusted trading partners. She said that they aim to expand trade ties with various nations that the US can rely on to create more redundancies in critical supply chains. She called India one of the US' reliable trading partners. "Our aim is to expand trade ties with the broad array of countries we can rely on - in order to create more redundancies in our critical supply chains. India is one of our reliable trading partners. Among other initiatives, we are working to connect new communities to the global market. And we are working to do so in a way that helps these communities move up the value chain," Yellen said. Yellen said, "India's infrastructure investments have significant potential to boost productivity and increase the efficiency of trade between our two countries." She stated that India and US are following what she described as "modern supply-side" policies, which include investing in human capital, physical capital, and science and technology to boost long-term economic potential. She said that both nations are also pursuing leadership in close energy technologies.

G20 Foreign Ministers met in New Delhi on March 1-2, under India's G20 Presidency, with the theme 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - 'One Earth, One Family, One Future,' reported Asian Lite International, adding that India successfully calibrated competing interests of all members and peddled the idea of resolving global problems through dialogue, cooperation, and mutual trust. Despite differences in the Russia-Ukraine war, the G20 Foreign Ministers deliberated on current global challenges and demonstrated consensus to find solutions, reported Asian Lite International. Given that the Ukraine-Russia war is currently at the centre of global discourse, and the various positions taken by the US and its European allies vis-a-vis Russia and its supposed and alleged ally China, as expected, there were voices against Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as two opposing positions from both sides, the report said, adding that other important issues were eventually given due consideration, keeping in mind that the G20 is a platform to foster global cooperation for economic development, not a platform to discuss security issues. Amid differing perspectives on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and obstinate positions taken by Russia and China, the G-20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting was unable to produce a joint statement because the two countries refused to sign it on the reference to Russian aggression against Ukraine that the other Western countries desired. The lack of agreement on Russia and China's and the Western alliance's differing perceptions, claims, and counterclaims on the Ukraine-Russia war has been tolerated on almost all global fora. However, the refusal of the Russian and Chinese counterparts to sign the language of last year's joint communique in Bali could only be interpreted as a bid to defend their perceptions and national position rather than a setback to the G-20 Chair. Further, according to Asian Lite International, despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeal to "rise above (their) differences," a heated exchange of words occurred between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, and a number of Foreign Ministers. Nonetheless, India's Prime Minister helped to clear the way for a meaningful discussion on issues other than the Russia-Ukraine conflict, saying that "we should not allow issues that we cannot resolve together to get in the way of those that we can." Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the Excellencies to draw inspiration from India's civilizational ethos of focusing not on what divides us but on what unites us all, emphasising that the meeting was taking place in the land of Gandhi and the Buddha. Later, this was the meeting's spirit, which echoed in discussions on all other issues. India has assumed G20 leadership at a time when the world is confronted with multifaceted challenges ranging from insufficient progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss, to economic slowdown, debt distress, uneven pandemic recovery, growing poverty and inequality, food and energy insecurity, and global supply chain disruptions, all exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and conflicts. The meeting assumes significance as G20 deliberations and macro policy cooperation provide a valuable opportunity for bringing fresh perspectives and forging long-term solutions to today's global challenges. The world looks to the G-20 to ease challenges such as growth, development, economic resilience, financial stability, transnational crime, corruption, terrorism, and food and energy security, according to India's Prime Minister, the report noted. The G20 FMM devoted a significant portion of its discussion to sustainable agriculture for global food security, which has come under increasing threat due to current conflict and tensions, as well as Covid-19 pandemic-led disruption of supply chains. The elimination of hunger and malnutrition throughout the world was deemed urgent and described as the need of the hour. Food security could be achieved by promoting the availability, accessibility, affordability, sustainability, equity, and transparent flow of food and agricultural products, including fertilisers, in all parts of the world, according to Asian Lite International. The OD also outlined a strategy for global energy security. In this regard, it said that "undisrupted, sustainable, and resilient supply chains are important to ensure affordable, reliable and sustainable access to energy for all. India is a global digital economy leader. A statement on digitalisation and the knowledge economy was expected to be issued at the G-20 meeting. The OD emphasised in this regard that the digital economy and green transitions are fundamentally changing the nature of work and creating new jobs and tasks. Skilling, re-skilling, and upskilling of the workforce, especially under-represented workers such as women, youth, and people with disabilities, is critical for reaping the benefits of the knowledge economy and technological progress and ensuring a just transition, the report stated. Overall, India could accomplish everything the G20 could in a challenging global environment, especially when the world's powers are irreconcilably divided. Although the G-20 Chair was unable to obtain a signed G-20 joint statement due to differences between Russia and China on the language of the Bali communique, Anthony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, insisted that if the majority of members have reaffirmed their commitment to the Bali declaration, a few members declining to sign does not matter much, it noted further. However, India would use its diplomatic efforts to find a common ground and, if possible, persuade the world powers to end the Russia-Ukraine war because the suffering caused by the war affects the entire world, particularly the Global South. However, the G-20 is not the appropriate platform for this, so efforts should be made in other fora and through other mechanisms, Asian Lite International reported. 

India's Presidency has been regarded by experts across the world as an exceptional and unprecedented opportunity with immense scope and potential. With the motto of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', India has embarked on the year-long journey of the G20 presidency. Indeed, there is an immense opportunity for steering international coordination towards economic stability and prosperity, which is in general an over-arching goal of the G20 organisation. However, there is something more quintessential to India's Presidency which has led experts and officials to attach a lot of expectations to it. Beginning as an organisation addressing macroeconomic issues and financial risks, the G20 has shown the spirit of pluralism and contextual relevance by splitting itself into Finance and Sherpa streams. Moreover, the Sherpa track, dealing with various developmental issues across the globe, has over time expanded to include working groups on developmental issues related to the digital economy, environment, education, employment, and so on. For the Presidency, India's leadership has already committed itself to exploiting the linkages between economic growth, gender equality, peace, and security and the use of technological innovations for universal benefit. The agenda of inclusive growth is well-manifested in the priorities set by India's presidency. Priorities include Green Development, Climate Finance & LiFE, Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth, Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure, Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century, and Women-led Development. These priorities target inclusive development of infrastructure, challenge the mechanism of WTO, make individuals an important part of environment conservation (through LiFE), and ensure not only women's participation but essentially women-led growth, among others. G20 is a platform for inculcating the culture of collective action, coordination and consensus building while strengthening multilateralism. Therefore, democratizing the international institutions by bringing reforms in the WTO, WHO, and other UN bodies is one of the top priorities for achieving multilateralism. But, why these agendas? There is no contention on the contextual relevance and urgency of these goals, but the rationale for the agenda goes beyond that. Priorities set by India's Presidency are the reflection of the past and present of India's culture, as well as of the pluralistic traditions of the nation. India, since independence, has envisioned a pluralistic and democratic world sans despotic superpowers. It has imagined a world where countries collectively engage in coordinated efforts to ensure world peace and the development of the entire world. Thus, with the motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the Indian leadership's motive is to ensure a global order of world peace and inclusive and sustainable development. Aspiration for such a global order stems from its rich history of diversity and collectivism. There is something unique fundamental to the goals set by India's Presidency. The fundamentals lie in the good economics and philosophy India attaches to G20. The principles of social welfare and equitable distribution are reflected in the commitment to achieving the end goal of ubiquitous improvement in the living standards of the masses and making the world a more equitable place. India understands the importance of this goal given its history of colonization and years of struggle for development. India assumes the responsibility of communicating the voice of the nations at the periphery and semi-periphery to the countries at the core. In the same spirit, India's advocacy forth the emergence of the Global South is not an agenda to attain dominance, rather it is an act of raising its voice against discriminatory practices and for equitable distribution of resources, a democratic world order, and better living conditions for all. The call for South-South cooperation is for bringing countries with common problems and aspirations together, to ensure economies of scale in achieving the goal of a better quality of life. India's stance on peace is clear with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words that "today's era must not be of war", quieting its critics. With this, the world has also started looking toward India's Presidency as a platform for bringing peace between Russia and Ukraine. India has thus acquired the position of a global peacemaker. The commitment to inclusion is also seen in the way the G20 Presidency is being executed in India. With eleven engagement groups, twelve working groups under the Sherpa track, and eight under the Finance track, the Presidency is undertaking over 200 meetings of ministers, government officials, and civil society members, engaging young minds from various educational institutions across 32 different work streams in 50 cities across length and breadth of the country, instead of limiting all the events to the capital. There is another reason why experts call the opportunity unprecedented. India's leadership has come at a very crucial period. The world collectively is recovering from the atrocities of the pandemic and witnessing the Russia-Ukraine war. Inflationary situations worldwide have been highly unfavourable for the poor, and the risk of global recession is looming as evident from massive layoffs undertaken by the world's top companies. The macroeconomic environment is not favorable, especially for the underprivileged and those in the middle of the income group, the pandemic has led to a significant rise in fiscal deficits of the governments and the vulnerable section is still struggling to get back on its feet post-pandemic. World has realized the perils of limited supply chains as experienced in the case of chip shortages. The times are sensitive and situations can worsen if not tackled efficiently. Under such an environment, India got the Presidency and gave the motto of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam. Thus, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is not mere jargon, instead, it is a mission and vision statement given by India to the world for collective prosperity. India's Presidency lies in the troika of Indonesia and Brazil, the other two countries of the global south. With three consecutive presidencies from the Global South, it has a unique chance to address the concerns that inhibit the development of the global south. As put by the Foreign Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, "...in the diplomatic history of India we have never had this many powerful nations, the top 20 economies of the world..., and their leaders, come to India." Thus, it is an opportunity for India to establish a new world order, with the mission and vision of world harmony through global justice and social welfare. Source: The Economic Times

In a special briefing by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, he said, "It is one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers hosted by any G20 Presidency." The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM), which is scheduled to take place in physical format from March 1-2, 2023 in New Delhi under India's Presidency is "one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers hosted by any G20 Presidency." In a special briefing by Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra on G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, he said, "It is one of the largest gatherings of foreign ministers hosted by any G20 Presidency." The venue of G20 FMM is Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Center. Overall 40 delegations -- Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, European Union, France, Germany, India as host, Indonesia both as immediate past president and ASEAN chair, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, UK, US (all G20 member countries) -- are expected to participate in the meeting. Among the 9 guest countries participating at the level of FMs are Bangladesh, Egypt, Mauritius, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman, Singapore, Spain and the UAE. "Besides the participation of these countries which I said comprising of over 40 delegations, this would also include 13 international organisations. Surely, this is one of the largest gatherings of the FMs hosted by any G20 Presidency that we would privilege to host," said Kwatra. G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting, under India's ongoing G20 Presidency, will be held on Thursday (March 2) but it will kick off on Wednesday night with a gala dinner. "It will be under the chairmanship of our External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar. This would be the second ministerial meeting being held under our Presidency. The first ministerial meeting has just concluded in Bengaluru, which was of the Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors' meeting," said Kwatra. During the Foreign Ministers' meeting on Thursday, the EAM will be chairing two sessions of the foreign ministries meeting. "The first session will focus on multilateralism, and issues related to food and energy. The second session will focus on four or five key issues including new and emerging threats includes counter-terrorism and narcotics, global skill mapping, focus on global talent pools," said the foreign secretary. Kwatra also spoke about Japan's Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi who will not attend the meeting. "We understand that the Japanese Foreign Minister is not able to come because of his domestic compulsions but we are looking forward to a very active participation, active support in consultation with the Japanese delegation that is coming," said Kwatra. Deputy Foreign Minister Kenji Yamada is scheduled to visit New Delhi, India, to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers' Meeting from March 1 to 3, read Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs press release. "At this meeting, we will take our position and efforts as Japan, the G7 presidency, on important issues in the current international situation, such as multilateralism, food and energy security, and development cooperation, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues," said Kenji. The development comes after Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi skipped a meeting due to a scheduling conflict with a Diet (Japanese parliament) session. The theme of India's G20 Presidency is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" or "One Earth. One Family. One Future." 

Keeping in view the increasing need for women empowerment, the inception meeting of the G20 Empowerment and progression of the Women's Economic Representation (EMPOWER) group of the Ministry of Women and Child Development was held recently. Empowerment and women's rights were the key areas of discussion. During the G20 Empower Inception meeting on Saturday, Union Minister Smriti Irani highlighted the three focus areas under India's G20 Presidency. These three areas include -- "Women's Entrepreneurship: A win-win for Equity and Economy", "Partnership for promoting women's leadership at all levels including at grassroots" and "Education, the key to women's empowerment and equal workforce participation". "G20 Empower Inception Meeting was held in Agra today.  Historically, women have been accorded immense honour & respect in India. In line with our civilisational ethos & Women-led Development as envisioned by PM @narendramodi Ji, @g20org will further bolster @g20empower. #G20India," tweeted Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development. The Vision of G20 EMPOWER is to "Be the most inclusive and action-driven alliance among businesses and Governments to accelerate women's leadership and empowerment across the G20 countries." India's G20 Presidency is inclusive, equitable, ambitious, decisive and action-oriented pushing forward transformative changes for women's economic empowerment. "G20 Empower under India's G20 Presidency will focus on Entrepreneurship, Leadership and Education among women. Today's Inception Meeting in Agra was themed on the importance of Digital Skilling and Future Skills to empower women towards leading across sectors. #G20India," added Irani. The G20 EMPOWER 2023 under India's Presidency is prioritizing the shift from women's development to women-led development. It aims to transform challenges into opportunities accelerating the shift towards women-led entrepreneurship and greater inclusion of women in the workforce. The Ministry of Women and Child Development is India's nodal ministry for G20 EMPOWER. Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd is the Chair of EMPOWER 2023 during India's G20 Presidency. Under India's G20 Presidency, EMPOWER will host three meetings in February, April, and June 2023 at Agra, Thiruvananthapuram and Bhopal respectively. The consensus that emerges from the thematic discussions in these meetings would form part of the Communique for the G20 EMPOWER 2023 and would be provided as recommendations to the G20 leaders. G20 EMPOWER 2023 will focus on women's entrepreneurship, as a win-win for equity and the economy; creating a partnership for promoting women's leadership at grass root levels and on education, as a game-changing pathway for women's empowerment. Digital skilling will be a cross-cutting theme across the three focus areas. The inception meeting on February 11th-12th at Agra, Uttar Pradesh welcomed women leaders from G20 nations, guest countries, international organisations and the private sector. The theme of the meeting was "Empowering Women to Lead across Sectors: Role of Digital Skilling and Future Skills". Efforts of the G20 EMPOWER are an important step towards galvanising women-centric policies across G20 countries. Closing the digital gender gap is imperative, fostering digital gender inclusion and addressing the root causes of this divide will accelerate progress. At the time of taking over the chairpersonship of G20 EMPOWER Indonesia, Dr Sangita Reddy, Chair of G20 EMPOWER emphasized that achieving gender parity in labour force participation and the G20 agenda of achieving "25 by 25" is a significant milestone that we need to pursue. She urged all women who have held positions of power and men who understand the value of gender equity to step forward and help build an equitable world with collaborative and concerted action. Education, training, digital skilling, sustainable financing and equal pay for equal work are some of the factors that will drive women employment, enhance entrepreneurship and help build a developed nation in the "Amrit Kaal (golden age)". The website of the G20 EMPOWER will act as the information and resource centre for all EMPOWER activities and on focus areas during India's G20 Presidency. The aim of the website is to take the EMPOWER message to the people - "Yatra Naryastu Pujyante Ramante Tatra Devata" or When Women are Honoured, Divinity Blossoms there.  Source: ANI

Tensions have started to strain again between the Prime Minister’s House and the Presidency following the political situation in Punjab taking a toll on the affairs of the federal government. The Centre is seeking a joint sitting of parliament to carry out legislation, however President Arif Alvi, who belongs to the PTI, has thrice ignored the parliamentary affairs ministry's summary for a joint sitting. The federal government is worried about how it would carry out legislation as the authority to convene a joint sitting of parliament lies solely with the president. It believes that as the president holds a constitutional position, he should be unbiased in such matters. It is likely that the members of the ruling coalition in both houses of parliament will discuss the policy of the president’s sole authority to convene a joint sitting. Federal government sources said the discussion for this purpose would take place during the session starting on Monday. The PTI is also considering making a move for Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take a vote of confidence. Sources said the PTI wanted the elections to be held across the country, instead of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa alone. To counter the PTI’s plans, the federal government has decided to bring its house in order. It has started making efforts to woo it’s allies including the MQM-P and ANP for this purpose. The Centre wants the National Assembly, as well as the provincial legislatures in Sindh and Balochistan to complete their terms. K-P CM Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has announced that the provincial assembly would be dissolved on Saturday. Addressing a news conference in Peshawar, Khan added that he was subordinate to PTI chief Imran Khan, who would give the signal when the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly should be sent to the K-P governor. The K-P CM was expected to send his summary to Governor Haji Ghulam Ali on Saturday, advising him to dissolve the provincial assembly. The opposition in the K-P Assembly has decided against tabling a no-trust motion against the chief minister to stop the dissolution of the assembly. Speaking to reporters in Peshawar on Friday, PML-N deputy parliamentary leader and provincial spokesperson Ikhtiar Wali Khan claimed that the chief minister should stop requesting the opposition members to file a no-confidence motion against him to stop the dissolution of the legislature. The PML-N leader was apparently referring to the impression that the K-P chief minister was not ready to let go of power yet. According to PTI chairman and deposed premier Imran Khan’s announcement, the process for the dissolution of the K-P Assembly would be initiated after it was completed in the provincial legislature of Punjab. On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi had signed the summary for the dissolution of the provincial assembly. The advice to dissolve the assembly came less than 24 hours after the chief minister obtained the vote of confidence from the Punjab Assembly in the wee hours of Thursday. There were reports that the Punjab CM too had asked the opposition to file a no-confidence resolution against him to delay the dissolution of the assembly. Source: The Express Tribune 

Indian External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday and exchanged views on working together during India's G20 Presidency. Jaishankar, in a Twitter post, said he valued the UN chief's insights on UNSC reform and the Ukraine conflict. "A warm meeting with UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres. Valued his insights on UNSC reform and the Ukraine conflict. Exchanged views on working together during India's G20 Presidency," Jaishankar tweeted. The external affairs minister landed in the US on Tuesday for a two-day visit to preside over two high-level ministerial signature events of India's ongoing Presidency of the UN Security Council on December 14 and 15. Jaishankar on Wednesday chaired the High-Level Ministerial Open Debate on December 14 on the theme of "New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism" [NORMS]. "Chaired the open debate in the Security Council on New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism. Underlined the three challenges inherent in the IGN process: It is the only one in the United Nations that is conducted without any time frame," he tweeted. "It is also singular in being negotiated without any text. There is no record keeping that allows progress to be recognized and carried forward," he said in another tweet. On the sidelines, Jaishankar also met Armenia's foreign minister Ararat Mirzoyan, UAE Minister of Culture and Youth Noura AlKaabi and Poland's Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Wojciech Gerwel. The external affairs minister also unveiled Mahatma Gandhi's bust at the premises of the UN Headquarters. The bust, a gift from India to the United Nations, is the first Gandhi sculpture that was installed at the UN Headquarters. "Honored to join UNSG @antonioguterres and @UN_PGA Csaba Korosi in unveiling the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at the @UN Headquarters. May his presence in these hallowed premises inspire the UN to live up to its founding ideals," Jaishankar tweeted. The High-Level Briefing on December 15 is on "Global Approach to Counter Terrorism - Challenges and Way Forward". Both these themes have been key priorities for India during its current tenure at the UN Security Council. In an earlier release, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said the primary focus of the Open Debate on Reformed Multilateralism is to encourage all Member States to seriously address the pressing need for reforms in the global governance multilateral architecture, including the long-standing reforms of the UN Security Council. Source: ANI