India Day at UNGA puts spotlight on Global South innovations and progress of SDGs

As world leaders met for the 80th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York to shape a bold vision for the final five years of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 'India Day @ UNGA' brought global attention to the innovation and development lessons emerging from India and the Global South. Organised by Reliance Foundation, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), and the United Nations in India, two flagship events were held on September 24 to highlight the way forward in achieving sustainable development.

Technology and digital inclusion featured prominently during the discussions, with participants focusing on artificial intelligence (AI), India's digital public infrastructure, and democratised technology as tools for Global South-South collaboration. The events began with remarks from Consul General of India in New York Amb. Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, and UN Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies Amandeep Singh Gill spoke of a three-pronged approach to leveraging technology for development.

Amb. Binaya Srikanta Pradhan, Consul General, Consulate of India to New York delivering the inaugural speech.

S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India, discussed ongoing efforts to apply AI in the social sector, while Anil Malik, Secretary, Ministry of Women and Child Development, India, highlighted India's entry into a new phase of women's empowerment. The valedictory address was delivered by Gargee Ghosh, President, Global Policy and Advocacy, Gates Foundation.

The highlight of the day was the high-level panel discussion titled "At the Heart of Development: Aid, Trade, and Technology", which explored how collaborative frameworks in these areas are driving inclusive growth across the Global South.

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Speaking at the session, India's Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar, remarked, "A year ago, it seemed clear that the world was heading towards greater unpredictability. We began by worrying about supply chains, but today’s central challenges in international relations are: How does one de-risk, hedge, and become more resilient? It is too simplistic now to put the Global North and South in different baskets. We have had an accelerated move into a multipolar world.”

Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar UNGA meet

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B Srinivasan, Executive Lead, Reliance Foundation, noted in a message, "India's journey towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals is nothing short of remarkable. It reflects not only progress, but the spirit of resilience, innovation, and inclusivity that India brings to the world. Our experiences and learnings offer pathways of ideas, action, and scale that can inspire the Global South and indeed, the global community.

The publication "Global Goals, Indian Vision: The Last Mile to 2030", the third volume in this important series, shines a light on transformative solutions rooted in India's development journey, even as the world works towards the SDGs and India looks ahead to the historic vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047. At Reliance Foundation, our commitment to strengthening India's development is inspired by Reliance's We Care philosophy—an enduring belief in building an inclusive and compassionate future. It is our privilege to walk alongside partners, governments, and communities, sharing India's learnings with the world, and together shaping solutions that can uplift lives everywhere."

United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, Shombi Sharp said, "India has demonstrated leadership on SDG localisation, ensuring that efforts to achieve the goals reach every state and district, and launching mission-mode programmes that reflect SDG priorities. It was also the first country to create its own subnational SDG Index. India's commitment to the Global South is exemplary, ― it's sharing its digital public infrastructure (DPI) model with many other states at no cost, for instance."

Meanwhile, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DP World, United Arab Emirates, highlighted the importance of trade corridors in the changing global economic order. "Trade is very resilient, but the new global order and rules are important. The India-Middle East-Europe trade route will be critical in the years ahead. India-UAE bilateral trade has already begun to rise and we're seeing clear benefits from it. We expect trade between India and UAE to be 100 billion dollars this year,” he said.