G20 Central Bank Governors’ meet Under the Italian G20 Presidency

The forum discussed the policy actions for transformative and equitable recovery

• The Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, attended the G20 Central Bank Governors’ meeting on February 26, 2021
• This was the first ever G20 Central Bank Governors’ meeting that was held under the Italian Presidency
• The 2021 G20, under the Italian Presidency focused on three broad, interconnected pillars of action – People, Planet, Prosperity

Highlights of G – 20 Central Banks Governors Meeting

• The meeting focused on three broad, interconnected pillars of action: People, Planet and Prosperity
• Within these pillars, the G20 aims to take the lead in ensuring a swift international response to the COVID-19 pandemic – able to provide equitable, worldwide access to diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines – while building up resilience to future health-related shocks
• The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The 19 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the UK, and the US
• Each G20 Presidency includes the organization of ministerial meetings on each of the main focus areas of the forum
• These meetings are important opportunities to discuss and further develop issues of international relevance, thus building consensus around specific shared deliverables
• The ministerial meetings are organized independently from the Summit, where the Heads of State and Government endorse some of the key outcomes achieved by the Ministers

Proceedings of Meetings

• The Finance Minister of Indi spoke about India’s policy response to the pandemic
• India’s domestic policies have been based broadly on supporting citizens through measures such as credit guarantees, direct transfers, food guarantees, economic stimulus packages and accelerating structural reform
• India’s vaccination program, which is the world’s largest and the most ambitious vaccination drive
• Also mentioned that India has extended vaccine support to several countries
• During this meeting, G20 finance ministers and central bank governors also discussed the implications of climate change on global growth and financial stability
• Presidency’s proposal to undertake systematic policy dialogue on climate risk and environment taxation
• Suggested that these conversations should remain within the ambit of Paris Agreement and should be based on the principles of common but differentiated responsibility, respective capability, and the voluntary nature of the commitments
• The finance minister of India also stressed upon the importance of transfer of green technologies and scaling up of climate finance

What is “G20 Grouping”?

• It is an international forum for governments and central bank governors coming from the 19 countries and European Union (EU)

India and World