Old and the new
There was a time when speaking of India’s civilisational past in policy circles invited a knowing smile, sometimes a pitying one.
There was a time when speaking of India’s civilisational past in policy circles invited a knowing smile, sometimes a pitying one.
In August 2025, S&P Global Ratings upgraded India’s sovereign credit rating from BBB ~ to BBB ~ the first such elevation in eighteen years.
Widening disparities in income and wealth both within and across countries have become among the most pressing global challenges of our time. As inequalities deepen, the call for coordinated international action has only grown louder, highlighting the need for shared commitment and collective responsibility.
New Delhi is expected to follow the development closely, given India’s own recent presidency and sustained role in shaping G20 priorities.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi whether he would “take up South Africa’s cause” with US President Donald Trump after Trump announced that South Africa would not be invited to the 2026 G20 summit to be hosted in Miami.
India's permanent representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, strongly condemned the loss of civilian lives in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas saying that the alarming humanitarian crisis was 'clearly unacceptable'.
Another important development was that the PM Modi dedicated to nation the International Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre (IECC) complex in New Delhi, and urged the nation to move ahead with the principle of ‘Think Big, Dream Big, Act Big’.
Describing India's G20 presidency as its diplomatic achievement of the year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday said that the country was able to get the most powerful nations of the world to show a new commitment to sustainable development and promoting green growth.
In the midst of conflicts and competition, development cooperation suffered, impeding progress. Assuming the G20 Chair, India sought to offer the world an alternative to status quo, a shift from a GDP-centric to human-centric progress. India aimed to remind the world of what unites us, rather than what divides us.
The summit will witness a major gathering of world leaders.
