MONUMENTAL SHIFT

MODI HAS MANAGED TO MOVE FOREIGN POLICY FROM THE ELITE TO THE MASS CATEGORY

- MILAN VAISHNAV

We are at a moment when the stars have aligned for India, where it finds itself in a geopolitical sweet spot. Despite its economic struggles, India will remain one of the fastest growing major economies, if not the fastest, according to the International Monetary Fund.

Although India failed to unambiguously condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, that has not really cost it much diplomatic capital. In fact, the west, led by the United States, has rushed in with even more fervour to court India. Furthermore, it is symbolic that this year India has surpassed China as the world's most populous country. It is an important signal to the world of the potential that India's consumer market holds for foreign companies as well as the potential productivity gains India can reap from possessing such a young population. The G20, coming against this backdrop, is in many ways a coming-of-age moment.

Since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently talked about his desire for India to move from being a balancing power to a leading power. If one follows the arc of the past decade, this G20 summit arrives at a moment where he can arguably make the case that the transition is under way. The 2024 symbolism is not lost on anybody; in some ways, the 2024 election campaign started on December 1, 2022, when India assumed the G20 presidency. It was on that day that every mobile phone customer in India received an SMS declaring that this was a proud moment for the nation. We saw G20 logos projected on to historical monuments. Metros have been lined with G20 paraphernalia. This has all of the hallmarks of an election campaign.