Rio de Janeiro: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in an address on the first day of the G20 summit on Monday, complimented the Brazilian presidency of the grouping for taking forward the "people-centric decisions" taken at the bloc's summit in New Delhi last year. The prime minister made the remarks at the G20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty'.
The opening day's highlight was the launch of a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger that has been supported by at least 80 nations.
In a post on 'X', Modi called the initiative "commendable" saying it marks a significant stride towards ensuring food security and uplifting vulnerable communities worldwide. "India assures full support to this effort."
'Back to Basics' and 'March to Future'
In his remarks at the session, the prime minister said India believes in the approaches of 'Back to Basics' and 'March to Future' and that is why it is emphasising organic farming, popularising millets and encouraging climate-resilient crop varieties. PM Modi also called for reform of the institutions of global governance.
"And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi summit, we will reform institutions of global governance," he said. Modi said the people-centric decisions taken at the G20 Summit in New Delhi have been taken forward during Brazil's Presidency," he said.
"It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG (sustainable development goals). We focused on Inclusive development, women-led development, and youth power," he said. "And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South. It is clear that One Earth One Family One Future is as relevant at this summit as it was last year," he added.
PM Modi highlights how India provides free food to 800 million people
The theme of India's G20 presidency was drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of Maha Upanishad. Speaking about India's initiatives to deal with hunger and poverty, Modi said India had pulled 250 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years and was distributing free food grains to 800 million people in the country.
The prime minister also highlighted the steps taken by India to strengthen food security in Africa and elsewhere. "Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the world's biggest health insurance scheme," he said.
"Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance," he said.
"Maintaining our focus on Women-led development and social inclusion, over 300 million women micro-entrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit," Modi added.
India's crop insurance
The prime minister also spoke about India's crop insurance scheme. "Under the world's largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion US dollars," he said. "Under the farmers' scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers. Institutional credit worth 300 billion US dollars is being given to farmers," he said.
PM Modi said India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on nutrition. He said New Delhi is also contributing to global food security by sending food items to various countries. "The main reason for our success is our approach: 'back to basics' and 'march to the future'," he said.
"We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets," he said.
The prime minister said India has developed over 2000 climate-resilient crop varieties and has started the 'Digital Agriculture Mission'.
"India’s digital public Infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion. With the aspirational districts and blocks project we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link," he said.
PM Modi began his visit to Brazil after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.
(With inputs from agency)
