Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on day 2 of the G20 Ministers' meeting in Varanasi not only urged everyone to adopt a game-changing action plan for women-led development but also said that attempts should be made to increase investment in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Delivering a special video address at the G20 Development Ministers' meeting under the G20 Indian Presidency in Varanasi, PM Modi emphasized that it is the collective responsibility of the people not to let the Sustainable Development Goals fall behind. He continued by saying that the Global South needed to strongly convey to the rest of the globe the necessary course of action.
Underlining the importance of gender equality and women's empowerment in achieving the SDGs, the Prime Minister mentioned that India is not limited to women's empowerment but extends to women-led development. PM Modi emphasised that women are driving development agendas and acting as drivers of growth and transformation. Everyone, he said, should adopt a radical Action Plan for Women-led Development.
The Prime Minister said that multilateral financial institutions should be reformed to expand the eligibility criteria to ensure that finance is accessible to those in need.
"In India, we have made efforts to improve people's lives in more than a hundred Aspirational Districts which were pockets of under-development that have now emerged as the catalysts of growth in the country," the PM said in his address.