&w=3840&q=100)
India's economic growth makes it a global stability anchor: NITI Aayog VC
Bery addressed the ministerial segment of the High Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development Goals at UN Headquarters on Monday.
He said the world is navigating a period of significant economic shifts and uncertainty, which makes the international community's collective work on Sustainable Development Goals more critical than ever.
The world needs anchors of stability, new engines of growth and development models that can be scaled and shared. India, with its unique strengths and experience, is ready and willing to offer all three.
He underscored that India's sustained economic growth makes it an "anchor of stability for the global community and an example of what is possible.
In an era of flux, India stands out as a vibrant democracy with steadily improving socio-economic indicators enabled by inclusive digital technologies, principled reforms and a focus on empowering all segments of society, Bery said.
Further, he said that India is committed to catalysing change across the Global South.
"India's development journey, marked by scale, speed and stability, offers a credible and replicable pathway for fellow developing countries, Bery said.
Addressing the international community from the UNGA podium, Bery said 248 million Indians are estimated to have escaped poverty in the decade between 2013-14 and 2022-23.
With India today being home to the world's largest cohort of youth entering employment, the country is committed to making sure that they have a bright and productive future.
India's journey demonstrates that inclusive and sustainable development is both possible and scalable, Bery said.
India has extended concessional finance, technology partnerships and capacity building support across developing countries, including solar energy infrastructure and digital governance tools.
With the UN marking 80 years of existence, Bery said India reaffirms its belief in the UN as the cornerstone of multilateralism.
The UN must continue to serve as a catalyst for inclusive and sustainable development. India supports a more representative and effective UN system that reflects contemporary realities and empowers all nations to shape our shared future, he said.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, in remarks to the High-level Political Forum, said the international community is meeting at the forum against the backdrop of global conflicts that are pushing the Sustainable Development Goals further out of reach.
He sounded an alarm over the slowing global economy, rising trade tensions, growing inequalities and aid budgets being decimated while military spending soars.
And mistrust, division and outright conflicts are placing the international problem-solving system under unprecedented strain. We cannot sugarcoat these facts. But we must not surrender to them either. The SDGs are still within reach -- if we act with urgency and ambition, Guterres said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
15 minutes ago
- Business Standard
Kotak Bank launches Solitaire to target India's growing affluent class
By Advait Palepu and Apoorva Ajith Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. is extending wealth management and bespoke services to its affluent customers as competition for servicing India's rapidly-growing tribe of rich individuals heats up. The Mumbai-based private lender backed by billionaire Uday Kotak Wednesday launched 'Kotak Solitaire,' an offering targeted at salaried customers with Rs 0.75 crore ($86,786) in relationship value and self-employed clients with Rs 1 crore. 'The affluent segment is growing twice as fast the rest of the wealth market,' said Rohit Bhasin, chief marketing officer at Kotak Mahindra Bank. Through Solitaire, Kotak is looking to grow its 4 per cent market share among affluent Indians by offering them banking and investment products and services usually reserved for the wealthy and super-rich, he said. The move comes as independent wealth managers like 360 One WAM Ltd., Nuvama Wealth Management Ltd. and Blackstone Inc.-backed ASK Group are spreading out across the country to woo high networth individuals beyond India's metropolitan centers. 'This is a stickier customer, you can earn more from affluent customers and their needs pan out across products,' Bhasin said. More than a third of the bank's business comes from its affluent customers, he added. Kotak is India's fourth-largest private bank after HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and Axis Bank Ltd. Its private banking division is among the largest wealth managers in the country, catering to individuals with over $1 million in investable assets and servicing 60 per cent of India's top 100 families. Solitaire's offerings include dedicated relationship managers, access to alternative assets, portfolio management services and lifestyle products, the bank said in a release. For businesses, there will be enhanced working capital loans, payments, cash management and forex services. Kotak managed assets worth Rs 8.45 trillion across its private banking, priority banking and investment advisory divisions as of March 31. The bank's shares closed 0.5 per cent higher at Rs 2,170.40 in Mumbai on Wednesday.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Israel Denies Causing 'Mass Starvation' In Gaza
Israel on Wednesday hit back at growing international criticism that it was behind chronic food shortages in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately creating a humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory. More than 100 aid and human rights groups said earlier Wednesday that "mass starvation" was spreading in the Gaza Strip, and France warned of a growing "risk of famine" caused by "the blockade imposed by Israel". The head of the World Health Organization also weighed in, saying that a "large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving". "I don't know what you would call it other than mass starvation -- and it's man-made," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters. An Israeli government spokesman, David Mencer, said there was "no famine caused by Israel. There is a man-made shortage engineered by Hamas." President Isaac Herzog, visiting troops in Gaza, maintained that Israel was acting "according to international law" while Hamas was "trying to sabotage" aid distribution in a bid to obstruct the Israeli military campaign that began more than 21 months ago. An organisation backed by the United States and Israel, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), began distributing aid in Gaza in May as Israel eased a two-month total blockade, effectively sidelining the longstanding UN-led system. Aid agencies have said permissions from Israel were still limited, and coordination to safely move trucks to where they are needed was a major challenge in an active war zone. Mencer accused Hamas, whose attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 sparked the war, of preventing supplies from being distributed and looting aid for themselves or to sell at inflated prices. "Aid has been flowing into Gaza," he said but blamed the United Nations and its associates for failing to pick up truckloads of foodstuffs and other essentials cleared and waiting on the Gaza side of the border. 'Torment' The United States meanwhile said its top Middle East envoy was heading to Europe for talks on a possible ceasefire and an aid corridor, raising hopes of a breakthrough after more than two weeks of negotiations. On the ground, Gaza's civil defence agency told AFP that Israeli strikes killed 17 people overnight, including a pregnant woman in Gaza City. The Israeli military said it was operating in Gaza City and elsewhere in the north, and had hit dozens of "terror targets" across the coastal territory. Getting vital aid into Gaza and to the more than two million people who need it has become a key issue in the conflict, with reports from doctors and aid agencies of increasing cases of malnutrition and starvation. The humanitarian organisations said in a joint statement that warehouses with tonnes of supplies were sitting untouched inside and outside Gaza, while people were "trapped in a cycle of hope and heartbreak, waiting for assistance and ceasefires". "It is not just physical torment but psychological. Survival is dangled like a mirage," they added. The 111 signatories, including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Save the Children and Oxfam, called for an immediate negotiated ceasefire, the opening of all land crossings and the free flow of aid through UN-led mechanisms. In Khan Yunis, in Gaza's south, residents told AFP how they battled to get food aid, with one man calling it "a catastrophic scene and a real famine". The UN said on Tuesday that Israeli forces had killed more than 1,000 Palestinians trying to get food from GHF sites. GHF and Israel have accused Hamas of firing on civilians. 'Stalled Talks' Even after Israel began easing its aid blockade in late May, Gaza's population is still suffering extreme scarcities. GHF said the UN, which refuses to work with it over neutrality concerns, "has a capacity and operational problem" and called for "more collaboration" to deliver life-saving aid. COGAT, an Israeli defence ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the Palestinian territories, said the "main obstacle to maintaining a consistent flow of humanitarian aid" was a "collection bottleneck" blamed on international organisations. Israel's military campaign in Gaza has killed 59,219 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. Hamas's October 2023 attack which sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Mediators have been shuttling between Israeli and Hamas negotiators in Doha since July 6 in search of an elusive truce, with each side blaming the other for refusing to budge on their key demands.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
What To Know About The US Decision To Leave UNESCO, Why It Matters
Paris: With the support of international partners and the mobilization of $115 million, the UN cultural agency UNESCO recently helped rebuild the Iraqi city of Mosul after it was devastated by the Islamic State group. The restoration of the historic city's iconic Al-Nouri Mosque and Al-Hadba Minaret was just one of many programs run by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is in the spotlight because the United States is leaving it once again. The decision to pull US funding and participation from UNESCO will deal a blow to its work preserving cultural heritage around the world. President Donald Trump exited the agency during his first term, accusing it of promoting anti-Israel speech. The Biden administration had rejoined UNESCO in 2023 after citing concerns that China was filling the gap left by the US in UNESCO policymaking. Beyond the diplomatic disputes, here's a look at the work that UNESCO does: UNESCO names World Heritage sites, including landmarks like the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, the Taj Mahal and the Statue of Liberty, and gives them special protection under its World Heritage Sites program. Its World Heritage Committee each year designates sites considered "of outstanding value to humanity" and intervenes when sites are in danger of destruction or damage. The program provides countries with technical assistance and professional training to preserve the sites. It now also includes "intangible" heritage such as folk songs and traditional dances, crafts and cooking in its lists. A World Heritage site designation is coveted and seen as a boost to tourism. Like the rest of the UN, UNESCO was created in response to the horrors of World War II, and particularly Nazi crimes. Amid concerns that the agency's Arab members have used UNESCO to pass anti-Israel resolutions, UNESCO has worked in recent years on Holocaust awareness projects. That includes educational materials and organizing visits to former Nazi concentration camps. UNESCO works to improve literacy, with a special focus on girls in countries hit by war or disasters who get little or no schooling though programs such as the Malala Fund for Girls' Right to Education. In Tanzania, for instance, over 2,500 girls benefited from the creation of safe spaces in 40 secondary schools, The agency provides teacher training and materials and encourages programs for girls to pursue careers in science. One of the agency's goals is coordinating climate knowledge and improving international education about how global warming occurs and affects people around the world. Over 30 UNESCO programs are designed to help its members adapt to climate change and favor sustainable development. UNESCO adopted in 2021 what it calls "the first and only global standard-setting instrument on the ethics of artificial intelligence." Applying to all 194 member states, the recommendation emphasizes the protection of human rights and dignity, grounded in principles like transparency, fairness, and human oversight of AI systems. UNESCO director general Audrey Azoulay said the US decision to leave was expected and that the agency has prepared for it. While the U.S. had previously provided a notable share of the agency's budget, UNESCO has diversified its funding sources. "Thanks to the efforts made by the organization since 2018, the decreasing trend in the financial contribution of the US has been offset, so that it now represents 8% of the organization's total budget compared with 40% for some United Nations entities," Azoulay said. She added that the agency's overall budget has increased and that it has the steady support of "a large number of member states and private contributors."
