Ahead of the virtual G20 Leaders’ Summit on November 22, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said India could lead the way in ensuring that what was set out in the “Jaipur Call for Action” continues to be taken forward through the G20 and the WTO, so that the full potential of MSMEs can be fully exploited.
In August, G20 Trade Ministers issued a Jaipur Call for Action to enhance access to information for MSMEs. The Ministers called upon the International Trade Center (ITC), Geneva to work on a detailed implementation plan, in consultation with UNCTAD and WTO, for the upgradation of ITC’s Global Trade Helpdesk which would address the informational gaps faced by MSMEs. The G20 Leaders in their New Delhi Declaration recognised challenges MSMEs, particularly in developing countries.
“While presenting the 2023 Union Budget, I noted that MSMEs are the growth engines of the Indian economy,” Sitharaman said addressing a webinar on ‘Strong, Sustainable, Balanced and Inclusive Growth’.
The minister said under India’s Presidency, the G20 placed close attention to integrating MSMEs into international trade. MSMEs account for 90% of businesses, 60 to 70% of employment and 50% of GDP worldwide.
“They play a key role in sustaining livelihoods, in particular among the working poor, women, youth, and groups in vulnerable situations. However, MSMEs, particularly in developing nations, often struggle with limited access to information, hindering their international trade involvement,” she said.
Speaking about the global economy, Sitharaman said since the pandemic it has been grappling with multiple crises, adversely affecting growth. While the recovery is underway, it remains slow and uneven. The current pace of global growth remains quite weak, well below the 3.8% average in the two decades before the pandemic and looking ahead over the medium term, growth prospects have weakened further, she said.
“Policy coordination, both global as well as domestic, is critical to ensure that growth comes back on track and remains strong, sustainable, balanced and inclusive,” she said.
According to IMF’s latest projections, world economic growth will slow from 3.5% in 2022 to 3% this year and 2.9% next year, a 0.1 percentage point downgrade for 2024 from July. It has estimated India’s GDP growth to be around 6.3% in 2023-24 compared with 7.2% 2022-23.
To this effect, the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration underscores the urgency of implementing well-calibrated macroeconomic and structural policies to bolster equitable growth and enhance macroeconomic and financial stability, she added.
Concerted efforts were taken by India’s G20 Presidency to mainstream the concerns and aspirations of the Global South; explore how technology can be leveraged for the benefit of development for all; and to develop solutions for enabling multilateral institutions to become more effective in addressing the complex development financing landscape of the 21st century.