G20 Summit: Important Topics for UPSC Exams

What is G20?

It came in the aftermath of Asian financial crisis of 1999 and is a forum of governments and central bank governors from 20 major economies.
Its purpose is to study, review, and promote high-level discussion of policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability
Summit level meeting was initiated after financial crisis of 2008. Therefore since then 3 separate meetings are held head of state(Summit level), finance ministers meet, central bank governors meet.
G20 does not have a Secretariat, does not have any staff working for it, and it is basically a leader led forum.
The recommendations of G20 are advisory in nature.
It is up to the host country to set up the agenda. The common agenda in all these meeting ‘How to have transparent, better, and effective global economic governance and how to promote growth’.
The forum provides an opportunity for bilateral and multilateral meetings.

Which are those 20 Economies/Countries?

19 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
And European Union which os represented by European Commission and the European Central Bank.

What is the Significance of G20?

Collectively, the G20 economies account for around 85% of the gross world product (GWP), 80% of world trade (or, if excluding EU intra-trade, 75%), and two-thirds of the world population.
It can prove to be a forum for the reforms in the current financial institutions such as IMF, WB.
Other issues related to the economics such as terror financing, post global economic order, money laundering etc. can be discussed from policy perspective.
The platform is no longer only limited to economic issues and other issues such as agriculture, climate change, education, health, water etc. is also discussed.

Highlights of the 11th G20 Summit: Hangzhou, china in 2016.

The theme of the Summit was “Toward an Innovative, Invigorated, Interconnected and Inclusive World Economy”.
Finance, Trade and Investment is the major problems in international community. At present Europe and America is out of recession but the economic growth is not much in these countries. The whole world depends on their economic growth.
Globalization has benefitted developing countries and emerging markets like China and India. It has helped to get several millions of people out of poverty and provide them a decent standard of living.
Excess capacity in steel was recognised as a global issue.
China Promoted OBOR and AIIB initiatives to the major economies.
Support for modern tax administration and system was emphasized again. Furthers they talked about faster implementation of BEPS framework which came from the joint efforts of G20 and OECD countries.
Terrorism was also discussed along with a joint effort mechanism to fight terror.
SDG goals and some health issues were also discussed.
Developed countries in terms of climate change, environment, and economics where rich are getting richer and those at the lower segment, their prosperity is not growing at a rapid pace.
In Developed countries the disparity between haves and have-nots are increasing. This is the reason we had BREXIT. Britain decided to come out of EU because they were forced to accept migrants to their country and migrants up their own jobs and their economy is not growing up adequately to be able to sustain that.