Published: 6th Jul, 2019
India refuses to sign declaration on free flow of data across borders at the 14th session of G-20 Summit being held in Osaka, Japan
Context
India refuses to sign declaration on free flow of data across borders at the 14th session of G-20 Summit being held in Osaka, Japan
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G – 20
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Global Significance of G20 Summit
As globalization progresses and various issues become more intricately intertwined, the recent G20 summits have focused not only on macro-economy and trade, but also on a wide range of global issues which have an immense impact on the global economy, such as development, climate change and energy, health, counter-terrorism, as well as migration and refugees.
This meeting is coming at a time which is seeing perhaps the most significant shift in the global environment since the cold war. This can be explained on the basis of following points:
- Threat to International Trade: World Trade Outlook has signalled continuous fall in trade growth in the first half of 2019. In the name of protecting domestic industries, countries like US, Russia, China and India are imposing steep tariffs on products of rival countries.
- Foreign Direct Investment: According to a UN Report released recently, Global FDI slid to 1.3 Trillion dollars in 2018, in its third annual decline
- Increasing Pollution and Climate Change: According to World Bank, air pollution costs societies more than 5 trillion dollars every year.
- Terrorism: According to Global Terrorism Index 2018, compiled by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), Islamic State, the Taliban, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram were responsible for 10,632 deaths in 2017.
- Gulf Crisis: The Gulf crisis has had both global and specific effects on developing countries. The crisis, in particular the period of higher oil prices, has adversely affected world growth and hence growth in developing countries.
Significance for India
- India was able to raise issues such as financial stability, artificial intelligence, energy security, reforming multilateralism and common efforts to address terrorism at the summit.
- Apart from a series of bilateral meetings with other countries, India may also go ahead with a couple of trilaterals (RIC=Russia-India-China and JAI=Japan-America-India) on the sidelines of the G20 summit.
- India was able to defend the RBI’s proposed data localisation guidelines by refusing to attend the digital economy pushed by Japanese PM.
- The concerns related to dealing with fugitive economic offenders and climate change also found place in the final declaration.
Conclusion
The G-20 is an important platform to discuss pressing issues and India should lead the exercise in making the G-20 more effective in dealing with some of the inequities in its system.
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