B20 has given policy recommendations to the G20 (Representational)
India's G20 Presidency comes at a crucial period, marked by a number of historic economic transitions against a backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty. The Business 20 (B20) group of the G20 is instrumental in facilitating engagement between the international business community, G20 decision-makers, and governments.
The B20 has made 54 recommendations and 172 policy actions to the G20.
Some of the notable recommendations include steps to accelerate services trade and enhance technology in trade - the first time this has been explored by the B20; roll out digital public infrastructure to boost financial inclusion and healthcare access; build digital trust by harmonising cybersecurity standards and data privacy regulations, and promote cross-border R&D and technology transfer of best practices through a virtual digital lab and library.
It asked for financing for global economic recovery. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Economic Outlook projects a declining trend in economic growth from 5.9 per cent (2021) to 3.4 per cent (2022), and 2.8 per cent (2023).
The outlook is clouded by multi-decade high inflation, monetary policy tightening, unprecedented debt levels, and heightened geopolitical tensions, the B20 report said.
The B20 task force has made four key recommendations - Global sustainable development goals (SDG) acceleration fund for financing of Global Public Goods (with initial thrust on geographically fungible SDG projects in climate, energy, biodiversity, and ocean pollution), capacity building of domestic financial sectors for SDGs financing, improving MSME access to finance and reducing cost of capital to foster inclusive growth, and financing sustainable and resilient infrastructure with enhanced focus on healthcare, energy, and digital infrastructure.
Global SDG Acceleration Fund (GSAF) for financing of 'Global Public Goods' is proposed as a transformative initiative to mobilise resources and accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations' SDGs.
GSAF would be a pure credit enhancement fund, housed at an existing multilateral development bank (like the World Bank) to leverage existing capacities and deliver projects deploying more than $1.25 trillion across developed and developing countries.
Each member country would have the discretion of adopting voluntary or mandatory contribution of 0.2 per cent of profits of larger enterprises for three years.