Title : G ? 7: Most powerful economic alliance

Date : Dec 14, 2021

Description :

Based on a News Article published in the ‘The Hindu’ on 13th December 2021 on Page Number 11

 

Useful for UPSC CSE Prelims and Mains (GS Paper III)

                                           Background:

 

• The Indian Prime Minister recently used video conferencing to address the 47th G7 Summit in June 2021.
• Earlier this year, the G7 Finance Ministers secured a historic agreement to establish a global minimum corporate tax rate (GMCTR).
• Apart from India, Australia and South Korea were also invited as "guest countries" to participate in the summit's proceedings.
• The United Kingdom hosted the conference this year. The most recent G-7 summit was held in France in 2019, with the gathering in the United States being cancelled owing to the epidemic last year.

 

 

 

 

About the G 7:

 

• It was founded in 1975 as an intergovernmental organisation.
• The group meets once a year to address topics such as global economic governance, international security, and energy policy.
• The G7 nations are the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
• The G20 includes all of the G7 countries, as well as India.
• The G7 lacks a written constitution and a permanent headquarters. Leaders' choices at annual summits are not legally binding.

 

 

 

 

 

Important Highlights of the recent summit:

 

• Make the World a Better Place:
• It's targeted squarely at competing with China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road infrastructure plan, which has been heavily criticised for saddling tiny countries with unmanageable debt but, since its inception in 2013, has included even G7 member Italy.
• It will catalyse hundreds of billions of dollars in infrastructure investment for low- and middle-income nations (in Asia and Africa) while also providing a values-driven, high-standard, and transparent cooperation with the G7.
• G-7 and guest countries signed off on a joint statement (Democracies 11) on "open societies," reaffirming and encouraging the ideals of freedom of expression, including online and offline, as a right that defends democracy and helps people live free of fear and oppression.
• Politically motivated internet shutdowns are also mentioned as a threat to freedom and democracy in the declaration.
• While the comment is addressed at China and Russia, India has been criticised for Internet restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, even as the government is involved in a battle with tech companies over its New IT guidelines for 2021.
• Rising authoritarianism, electoral interference, corruption, economic coercion, information manipulation, including disinformation, online harms and cyber attacks, politically motivated internet shutdowns, human rights violations and abuses, terrorism, and violent extremism are all threats to freedom and democracy in Democracies 11.
• The Carbis Bay Declaration was signed by the G7 countries.
• Its goal is to prevent future pandemics.
• The G7 also offered over 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses for poorer countries, with the US providing half and the UK providing 100 million.
• By mid-2022, 11 billion doses will be required to vaccinate at least 70% of the world's population.
• The dosages would be delivered both directly and via the COVAX worldwide initiative.

 

 

• Climate Change:
• Reaffirmed their commitment to increase their contributions in order to meet an overdue spending target of USD 100 billion per year to assist poorer countries in reducing carbon emissions.
• By 2030, he promised to halt and reverse biodiversity loss.
• By 2050, they have committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions.

 

• Against China:
• The G-7 statement, which was not signed by India and other outreach countries, slammed China for violating "human rights and fundamental freedoms" in Xinjiang (Uyghur Muslims) and Hong Kong, as well as unilateral moves to alter the South China Sea status quo.
• It also demanded that the World Health Organization's Covid origins investigation in China be conducted in a transparent and timely manner.
• In a statement made at the World Health Assembly, India asked for the same.

 

 

• India's Position:
• India is a natural ally for the G7 countries in the fight against autocracy, terrorism, and violent extremism, as well as disinformation and economic pressure.
• Concerns have been expressed that open societies are more prone to disinformation and cyber-attacks.
• It asked for the group's help in lifting patent protections on Covid-19 vaccinations.
• Countries working in isolation will not be able to maintain the planet's atmosphere, biodiversity, or oceans, according to the UN, which has urged for global action on climate change.
• India is the only member of the G-20 that is on track to reach its Paris targets.
• Developing nations need improved access to climate finance, according to the report, which calls for a comprehensive strategy to climate change that addresses mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer, climate financing, equity, climate justice, and lifestyle changes.
• Through applications like Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT), and the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity, the revolutionary influence of digital technologies on social inclusion and empowerment in India was highlighted.

Tags : United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States