IIM Rohtak organised a G20 Summit on “Preponderance of Indian Wisdom in VUCA World”

Council for Strategic Affairs, Indian Institute of Management Rohtak organized day 2 of India’s G20 Presidency Summit on “Preponderance of Indian Wisdom in VUCA World” at The Westin, Gurugram. The summit, centered around the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth, One Family, One Future”, witnessed the presence of speakers and delegates from Tajikistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Greece, Argentina, Canada and Switzerland. Over 300 participants in person and 1100 online participated in the summit from various parts of the country and abroad.

The Keynote speakers for today are Hon’ble Mr. Justice Surya Kant, Supreme Court of India; Shri Suresh Prabhu, Former G20 Sherpa and Member of Parliament, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Hemant Gupta, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India; Lt. Gen A. K. Singh, Former Lt. Governor, Andaman & Nicobar Islands; Mr. Narendra Taneja, Chairman, Independent Energy Policy Institute; Ms. Pratibha Prahlad, Founder Director, Delhi International Arts Festival; Mr. Yenten Lama, ex-CEO, The First MicroFinance Bank Ltd; Ms. D. Padma, Executive Director (Planning and Development), Indian Oil; Mr. Faiz Zaland, Political Activist and Professor, Kabul University, Afghanistan; Mr. Tahir Gora, Canadian Broadcaster, Editor, Publisher and Writer; Mr. K. D. Singh, Competition Commission of India, among others, delivered their talks on day 2 of the summit.

Mr. Surya Kant, Justice, Supreme Court of India stated that India is well known for its culture of hospitality in which everyone is considered as a part of one big family. India is an Arbitration hub with rich legal traditions & extensive experience in judicial matters. Adverting to the role of G20, India should enhance this opportunity to develop as an International arbitration hubs with increasing investments in India and Indian Arbitration Institutions and optimal use of our own arbitrators. Shri. Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Minister and Member of Parliament said that in G20 we have discussed everything below the Sun, we also now try to discuss everything above the moon. we need a platform for conversations since talking is a beginning of getting to solutions.

Inaugural Address by Hon’ble Mr. Hemant Gupta “As India assumes the G20 Presidency, it faces complex legal challenges, particularly in the fields of trade, investments, intellectual property, and their application. India's ability to effectively meet the complex legal and economic issues is a testament to the country's legal expertise and economic strength. The legal expertise combined with its rapidly growing economy and its position as one of the leading players in global economic scenarios gives the country the tools to be a successful leader of these countries.”

Prof. Dheeraj Sharma, Director, IIM Rohtak, deliberating on the summit spanning over two days, spoke about how India is looking forward to leading the way for her fellow nations with her G2O presidency. Traditional Indian norms are leaps and bounds ahead of the world today which is power and energy hungry, in her trajectory of sustainable development. The Indian society is a tolerant and pacifist one— brute force is not what the Indian people believe in. Sharing his vision for the future, he stated that India will become the arbitration hub and take the title from Singapore in the next decade. “Our traditional wisdom is to live within our means and be content and in consonance with Mother Earth”, he said.

The third panel, concentrated on the theme “India building Global Kinship through Soft Power”, shed light on India's ingenious wealth of knowledge, cultural prowess and legacy of values through literature, art, music and traditional forms of healing through yoga and ayurveda. Lt. Gen A. K. Singh, reflecting upon the slow but sure movement of the world towards coercion and conflict from cooperation, noted that India is ready to take a leadership role based on not only its hard power but also its soft power. Mr. Narendra Taneja stressed on India’s soft power in its values such as ahimsa, which send the message of a peace-loving country to the world outside.

Ms. Pratibha Prahlad, while commenting on India’s being a treasure house of art, urged the audience to come together in order to promote our arts, cultures and living traditions with more forcefulness and budget. “What hard diplomacy cannot achieve, soft diplomacy can”, she added. Talking about the granularity of art, she said, “My mission is to instill pride and make the world a more harmonious place.” Mr. Yenten Lama deliberated on India’s leadership in financial inclusion by means of fintech power tickets such as UPI, which constitutes over 40% of global real-time payments originating in India. Ms. D. Padma shifted the spotlight to CIPT— namely care, innovation, passion and trust— exhibited by Indian Oil in India’s adept use of soft power.

The fourth panel, rooted on the theme “India Disentangling Legal Complexities”, brought to the fore India’s effectiveness in leading the forum of the major economies while addressing trade, investment, intellectual property and data privacy laws. Mr. K. D. Singh, when talking about compliances, said that there exists a dire need to simplify legal language in a world where it is of paramount importance that every citizen understands the nuances of law. Mr. Tahir Gora threw light on India’s mission, vision and worldview which enabled her to be appreciated by the UN for international peacekeeping. Despite having sanctions, India continued to engage in commerce with Iran. In the Russia-Ukraine war, India took the right stance. Prof. Faiz Zaland further emphasized on the need to stick to the values inherited in culture for India to lead the G20. Prof. Peter Karagianakis, reflecting upon Louis Sullivan’s famous axiom, “form follows function”, said that, “Language is not about communication, but about understanding.” In order to achieve said understanding and thereby empower people, we ought to promulgate transparency in legal language.