Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: India, with its dual role as a leading emerging economy and a global influencer, is uniquely positioned to lead the transformation not just for itself, but for all those who share its aspirations, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has stressed. Adressing the flagship Governors Seminar on Challenges for Financing Sustainable Development for the Global South in Rio de Janeiro, she also said that India has proved that scale and speed can go hand in hand.
“For India, accelerating development is essential to ensure access to housing, healthcare, education and livelihoods for millions. At the same time, climate-related risks such as heatwaves, water stress, and extreme weather events are also increasing,” she told the gathering.
India is also increasingly working to integrate them through initiatives like the National Electric Mobility Mission, and province-level climate action plans. “The real challenge is not choosing between development and sustainability, but designing policies – particularly in partnership with Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDEs) – that promote inclusive growth and strengthen sustainable development,” the Finance Minister mentioned.
Sitharaman said that, “as we strive towards the 2030 agenda, the financing gap for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries has widened to over $4.2 trillion annually post-pandemic, reflecting the widening gap between ambition and reality. “India stands at a unique crossroads. The aspirations of a billion people converge with the imperatives of a fast-changing planet. And in this moment, policy will determine pace. India has demonstrated how scale and speed can go hand-in-hand,” she added.
