Modi reaffirms India’s commitment to ideal of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’

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United Nations – Reaffirming India’s commitment to the ideal of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’ or ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced India’s readiness to share with other nations its experiences in sustainable development and its digital public infrastructure. Modi was speaking to the United Nations General Assembly at the Summit of the Future Monday, September 23, 2024.

Referring to India’s initiatives in this direction, such as ‘One Earth, One Health’ and ‘One Sun, One Grid’, Modi reiterated India’s commitment towards a joint future for all humanity.

“For India, ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’ is a commitment,” Modi said, adding, “India will continue to work in thought, words and deeds to protect the rights of all humanity and global prosperity.”

Sustainable Development – The first off on the list of his brief speech was sustainable development goals, the action towards which, he said, require a humanitarian approach.

“When we are discussing global future, we must accord the highest priority to a human-centric approach,” Modi said.

Growth and progress of a nation without taking in account the people would not be meaningful, and as such, any approach to development must be coupled with concerns for people.

“While prioritizing sustainable development, we must also ensure human welfare, food and health safety,” he added.

India’s recent approach to climate change has set a new standard for political engagement on environmental issues. It has provided valuable lessons in balancing development and sustainability. This has been a revolutionary achievement for India. It was not long ago that India was viewed as a large contributor to the greenhouse gas emissions. Now, with new domestic policies in place, it is assuming a leading role in climate action.

In 2015, at the Paris Agreement, Modi had announced India’s new ambitious targets and commitments in renewable energy. India set target to achieving by 2030, a 33-35 percent reduction of its greenhouse emissions, and 40 percent increase of its electric capacity by using non-fossil fuel sources.

Today, India’s installed renewable energy capacity has reached 100.52 GW, with solar power contributing 89.43 GW. India’s major steps in the direction of combating climate change have included the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission, and of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME).

Citing India’s success at achieving sustainable development and at lifting 250 million people out of poverty in his address, Modi stressed India’s readiness to share this experience at sustainable development with the entire global south.

Security Council Reform – Bringing up reform of the Security Council, Modi said reforms in global institutions such as the United Nations were essential for global peace and development.

“Reform is the key to relevance”, he said and gave example of including the African Union as permanent member to the G20 Summit in New Delhi, calling it a step in that direction.

Global Peace and Security – Closely linked to the topic of Security Council reform was that of Global Peace and Security which was also brought up by Modi during his speech.

“Success of humanity lies in our collective strength and not in the battlefield,” Modi said.

War and strife in different parts of the world have dominated all the discussions at the Summit of the Future this year. A more inclusive Security Council would be a step towards maintaining global peace and security, many speakers said.

Threats to Global Peace and Security – Speaking of terrorism and security breaches which have been threatening global peace and security, Modi mentioned in his speech cyber, maritime and space as emerging new theaters of conflict, which can only be combated with commitment to the ideas of peace and security.

“On all these issues, I must stress that global action must match global ambition.”

Cyber Security – In his speech, Modi also discussed cyber security which has become a threat in many nations. Bringing up the fear of interference from international technology players in a country’s inner workings, he stressed the need for balanced regulation at the global level for safe and responsible use of technology. He said there was a need for global digital governance which upholds national sovereignty and integrity.

Digital Public Infrastructure – A major aspect of progress towards future, digital public infrastructure, was the topic on which Modi dwelt at length.

“Digital public infrastructure must be a bridge and not a barrier for global good,” Modi said.

Becoming globally prominent during Covid-19 pandemic, Digital public infrastructure is transforming India’s economy today. During the pandemic, it enabled digital government-to-person payments through cash transfers. Today, the digital public infrastructure in India offers systems for digital identity and payments, and provides the building blocks, acting as an intermediate layer between physical infrastructure like broadband and sectoral applications like social security.

India’s Digital public infrastructure, Modi said to the Assembly, was also what India was ready to share with the whole world.

India being a full democracy also featured in Modi’s address. He said he was greeting the members of the assembly on behalf of India and its 1.4 billion people, reminding the Assembly that he was bringing the voice of one sixth of humanity.