The primary role of sharing development solutions and experiences with partner countries in the Global South is now through professional entities, where timelines are now being vigorously maintained.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India’s development agenda and cooperation policy with the Global South has evolved in many different ways. Elements of these key features are now discernible across the new development partnership initiatives India is coming up with. The primary role of sharing development solutions and experiences with partner countries in the Global South are now through professional entities, where timelines are now being vigorously maintained.
The personalized leadership, with characteristic charisma, is also backed by emotional appeal. In his first tenure, PM Modi ensured a senior visit to all 54 African countries. Several visits of the President, Vice President, the PM and that of the External Affairs Minister were organised. In the recent past, India’s development partnership with countries of the Global South in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania has increased multifold.
The Global South would be relying both on what Southern countries can do together, and on what they can seek together, on the global agenda to achieve its common aspirations. Developing countries are deeply concerned about the increasing fragmentation of the international landscape and aspire to having an equivalent voice of Global South in the international development discourse.
NEW DEVELOPMENT PHILOSOPHY
The logic of sharing with Global South is now reflective of the course correction India has done in her own development strategy, different from the traditional South-South cooperation model, followed hitherto by India. There are four major changes India has made in her own development strategy.
One, a shift away from quantitative targets to qualitative targets. The emphasis is no more on number of schools but on quality of education; not on the length of roads but the quality highways; no more focus on food security alone but connect with the nutritional security. Poshan is a flagship programme for nutrition. Second, doing away with entitlement based approach to entrepreneurship based approach, whereby finding out news ways to place government in a facilitating role rather than getting into a mode where government allows space for people to explore their own ideas. This, in a way, also led to several programmes in India, where citizen centrality emerged as a major focus for almost all the flagship programmes. Third, leveraging of technology for delivery of people-centric programmes without leakages. In direct benefit transfers (DBT), delivery of Covid vaccines though CoWIN, Aadhaar enabled e-payment services, etc. India has demonstrated the willingness to have space for technological solutions. Fourth is the emphasis on good governance. Several states in India are now being encouraged to have good governance mechanism for reaping the benefits of citizen-centric welfare programmes.
DEVELOPMENT
NARRATIVE
The Global South faces a disproportionate burden of the global challenges due to historical inequalities. India’s role would be crucial to framing an inclusive and balanced international agenda, maintain global harmony and reform existing international institutions. As is well known, the Global South has largest stakes in the future. India’s development experience may provide simple, scalable and sustainable solutions that can transform respective economies and societies.
This would involve building a new narrative of global development with perspectives of diverse members of Global South. India’s new emphasis on FTAs is reflective of changing times. The earlier hesitation on competitiveness has gone. Emphasis on skills formation, macroeconomic stability, infrastructure development, financial sector development has given scope for several new initiatives. Inclusion of principles on sustainable living, as articulated in the form of LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) and the institutional ecosystem that supports such transitions, are also worth sharing with the Global South.
With schemes like Jan Dhan—National Mission on Financial Inclusion—e-Aadhar and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) for financial inclusion, connecting everyone with banking and finance; Digital India and Start-Up India for digital connect, huge scope may be explored for sharing open source technologies and where possible promote technology partnerships, while protecting the proprietary nature of such technologies. The New Education Policy for promoting local and regional languages. With emerging success back home India can share simple, scalable and sustainable solutions that can transform societies and economies.
EMERGING
MODALITIES
Latest in the series is the call given by the Prime Minister at the Voice of Global Summit held virtually on 13 January 2023, where he emphatically underscored that India should share its development excellence with the Global South. He announced setting up of a Global South Centre of Excellence for sharing development solutions. Efforts are already being put in for making these engagements follow the typical South-South Cooperation principles, viz. the process of engagement being consultative, outcome oriented, demand-driven, people-centric, and respectful of the sovereignty of partner countries.
Modalities are also of great significance. In India, those states that are following the flagship programmes are being monetarily encouraged. This is not a choice when India is engaged outside. Demand-driven nature is of key significance. With extreme indebtedness troubling several developing countries, fragmentation within the South is discernible. Continued commitment with the principles of South-South cooperation would be an important way forward. PM Modi has already announced this during his visit to Uganda in 2018. While addressing Parliament he articulated ten principles India would follow while engaging with the South. They include respect for sovereignty, non-conditionality and non-interference in internal affairs. The process would not be unidirectional, as the Prime Minister underlined, “I firmly believe that countries of the Global South have a lot to learn from each others’ development experience.”
- Prof Sachin Chaturvedi is Director General, Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS), New Delhi. Views expressed are personal.