Why in news? The Voice of the Global South Summit, a unique endeavour by the central  government after it assumed the G20 presidency, was inaugurated  by Prime Minister

Highlights:

• It is a “ unique and new initiative” that will generate ideas taken forward at the Global level and India has traditionally supported the cause of the ‘Global South’
• Summit gave a mantra to withstand the various global challenges, through “Respond, Recognise, Respect, Reform.”
• Goal : To launch a brand new and enthusiastic approach to realpolitik, while providing a coordinated strategy for emerging economies.
• Theme : ‘Unity of Voice, Unity of Purpose’ envisages bringing together countries of the global south

What was the need for the summit ?

• It acts as an alternative platform to the UN and Non-Aligned Movement
• It aims for a new international order that is more inclusive, representational, and fundamentally more stable from increasing Chinese expectations, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, and various other events.
• 3F : Raised concerns over rising prices of food, fuel, fertilisers caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and economic slump owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and natural disasters triggered by climate change.

What is India’s leadership role?

• India’s capacity-building programmes and with Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) situations showed that country has emerged as an education and healthcare hub for the Global South countries.
• Increased participation in regional organisations like the SAARC and international organisations like the World Trade Organization and the United Nations highlighted developing countries concern
• India remained engaged in international cooperation by providing vaccines to around 100 partners and medicines to over 150 countries during the Covid pandemic.

What are the major takeaways from the summit ?

India unveiled three initiatives to assist the Global South in areas ranging from technology to health

• “Aarogya Maitri”: Project to provide medical supplies to any developing country hit by natural disasters.
• Global South Science and Technology Initiative : It is mainly to share expertise in areas such as space technology and nuclear energy,
• Global South Centre of Excellence : Aims for research on development solutions to be implemented around the world.
• Global South Young Diplomats Forum: To connect young officers of foreign ministries for “synergising our diplomatic voice” and to offer “Global South Scholarships” to students from developing states to pursue higher education in India.
• Global Biofuel Alliance: Summit highlighted the associated benefits of Biofuels, Solar, One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) initiative and sought support from partners of Global south towards creating Alliance under G20

What is North-South divide?

• The economic, political, and social differences between the developed nations(Northern Hemisphere) and the parts of the developing world(Southern Hemisphere) are known as the global North-South divide.
• The North is distinguished by sophisticated industrial economies and high standards of living, while the South is distinguished by under-developed economies and poverty. This division is mostly based on the level of economic development.

Which are the Global south countries?

• The ‘Global South’ mainly refers to developing and under-developed countries in Asia, Africa and South America.

What are the reasons for North South Divide?

• History of colonialism, imperialism and uneven economic connections between industrialised and developing nations are the roots of the North-South split
• Several crucial measures, including GDP per capita, life expectancy, and access to education and healthcare, illustrate the disparity global development and poverty alleviation

Question

The  summit for developing nations, called the “Voice of the Global South Summit”, as its first big leadership-level G20 event, is an extremely important signal to bridge the gap between developed and developing countries. Explain