Gandhinagar: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal said that India had always stood for sustainable development and takes each sustainable development goal very seriously.
The Minister said India is one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of adopting and implementing environmental goals.
He said, “India regularly files UNFCCC report and has already exceeded its goal for 2030, of having a 40 percent share of renewable energy in its installed capacity in 2021”
The Minister was addressing the Inception Meeting of Business 20 (B20), the official G20 dialogue forum with the global business community in Gandhinagar on Monday.
He also asked businesses to adopt a sustainable and green approach in business practices and urged them to use the forum of B20 along with G20 to look at how we can collectively work towards a sustainable and equitable future agenda.
Goyal said that through the theme of G20 in India- ‘one earth one family one future’ – we wished to inspire the world to care for each other, to have a greater degree of dialogue and greater concern for the planet and the future of our children.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, he said that we had inherited this world as trustees and it is our duty to leave behind a better world for next generation. We have to respect intergenerational equity- we do not have the right to use up all the resources of this planet, he added.
Speaking of India’s amazing journey of growth, Goyal said that India had grown almost 12 times in the last three decades inspite of several black swan events.
He added that transformational steps had been taken by the government to take inclusive growth to every section of society without discrimination and to the remotest corners of the nation.
He stressed that the government had succeeded in securing the basic needs of life such as food, shelter, clothing, education, healthcare etc. to people, enabling, empowering and inspiring them to aspire for the better things in life.
The noted that even during the heights of the pandemic, no death due to starvation had taken place in the country, thanks to several government initiatives including the mission to provide more than adequate foodgrains to almost 800 million across the country.
He expressed hope that by August, we would have a robust framework for B20 and we succeed in taking a message of responsibility, care and concern, a message of togetherness and oneness, a message that we will all work together for a better future for our children, from India to the world.
India assumed the Presidency of the G20 from 1 December 2022. G20 is a premier forum for international economic cooperation.
Established in 2010, B20 is among the most prominent Engagement Group in G20, with companies and business organizations as participants. B20 leads the process of galvanizing global business leaders for their views on issues of global economic and trade governance and speaks in a single voice for the entire G20 business community.
B20 will operate through 7 Task Forces and 2 Action Councils entrusted to develop consensus-based policy recommendations to the G20.
B20 deliberations would see discussions on broad areas of climate action, innovation, digital global cooperation, resilient global value chains, fostering financial inclusion, empowering societies etc. The B20 Inception Meeting will culminate on 24 January 2023.
