India’s Assertive Vision at the 2025 G20 Summit: Modiji’s Global Blueprint for Security, AI Governance, and Institutional Reform

India stepped onto the global stage at the 2025 G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg with striking confidence, clarity, and ambition. Prime Minister Narendra Modi used his address not merely to participate in the conversation but to reshape it—placing security, human-centric technology, development, and global institutional reform at the centre of a new world order. His message was unmistakable: India is no longer content with being a stakeholder; it seeks to be an architect of the global future.

At the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, PM Modi emphasized the need for a global AI compact and reforms in the UN Security Council.(@narendramodi X) | Hindustan Times

A Comprehensive Six-Pillar Agenda for Global Action

In his address, Modiji unveiled a six-pillar agenda aimed at confronting threats that transcend borders—from terrorism networks to climate vulnerabilities and digital disruption. One of his foremost concerns was the expanding nexus between drugs and terrorism, a global challenge that fuels conflict, destabilizes societies, and finances violent groups. He urged the G20 to adopt a unified strategy to dismantle this nexus, stressing that no country is immune to its consequences.

Another crucial component of his proposal was the creation of a Global Healthcare Response Team. This would be a multinational pool of trained medical professionals ready for rapid deployment in emergencies—whether pandemics, natural disasters, or conflict-induced humanitarian crises. Modiji underscored that the COVID-19 experience had revealed glaring gaps in collective preparedness, and the world cannot afford a repeat of that chaos.

He also placed significant emphasis on Africa’s youth, introducing the Africa-Skills Multiplier Initiative. Designed as a large-scale capacity-building programme, the initiative envisions training one million certified instructors who would then transfer skills across the continent. Complementing this was his call for a Global Traditional Knowledge Repository—an open, digital archive where indigenous systems, cultural heritage, and ancestral knowledge from around the world can be preserved and shared.

Another strategic proposition was the creation of an Open Satellite Data Partnership. Modiji argued that equitable access to satellite data could become a transformative tool for sustainable development, climate monitoring, resource management, and disaster response—especially for nations of the Global South. His final pillar, a Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative, highlighted the need to reduce global dependence on raw extraction by advancing recycling, urban mining, and sustainable value-addition in the minerals sector.

Human-Centric Artificial Intelligence: India Leads the Call for Global Safeguards

Beyond immediate geopolitical and economic concerns, Modiji pressed for a global compact on artificial intelligence—one of the summit’s most consequential propositions. He warned that while AI offers immense promise, it also presents profound risks when exploited for misinformation, cybercrime, deepfakes, or automated systems that escape human accountability.

Modiji insisted that AI must remain firmly human-controlled, transparent, safe, and auditable. He proposed the adoption of a unified global framework that establishes ethical guardrails and strengthens international cooperation. His vision of AI governance also included a global talent mobility framework, enabling countries to pool expertise, build shared capabilities, and create a skilled workforce prepared for “Capabilities of Tomorrow.” By promoting open-source principles and digital democracy, Modiji positioned India as a leader in shaping the moral and structural foundations of future technologies.

UNSC Reform: A Demand Elevated to an Urgent Global Imperative

At the India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum on the sidelines of the G20 summit, Modiji delivered a forceful message: United Nations Security Council reform is no longer optional—it is overdue and essential. He stressed that global governance cannot function effectively in the 21st century with institutions designed in the aftermath of World War II.

To advance the reform agenda, Modiji proposed a series of structural mechanisms within IBSA, including regular NSA-level meetings to coordinate security strategies, an IBSA Digital Innovation Alliance to share India’s proven digital public infrastructure, and a dedicated IBSA Fund for Climate-Resilient Agriculture. These frameworks, he argued, would not only strengthen South-South cooperation but also prepare IBSA to act as a collective force for institutional change. Modiji also invited IBSA partners to attend India’s upcoming AI Impact Summit in 2026, positioning the bloc as a central voice for ethical and inclusive technology governance.

A Broader Shift in India’s Global Diplomacy

Modiji’s interventions at the G20 Summit reflected a deeper transformation in India’s foreign policy approach. India is engaging not just with economic issues but with multidimensional security, digital sovereignty, sustainability, and equitable development. The consistent thread running through all his proposals was India’s insistence that global governance must evolve—and that emerging economies must have a decisive role in shaping that evolution.

India’s advocacy for Africa’s development, accessible satellite data, AI ethics, and climate-resilient agriculture highlights its commitment to a fairer global order rooted in the principles of inclusivity and shared prosperity. At the same time, by raising structural concerns about global institutions, India is challenging the status quo and pushing for reforms that reflect the realities of a multipolar world.

The MGMM Outlook

India’s presence at the 2025 G20 Summit in Johannesburg reflected not just participation but leadership driven by clarity, ambition, and a decisive global vision. From our viewpoint, Prime Minister Modi’s six-pillar agenda showed how India is setting the terms of global conversation—whether on cross-border terrorism, the drug–terror nexus, global health readiness, or Africa-centric development. His insistence on a unified global healthcare team, capacity-building for African youth through the Africa-Skills Multiplier Initiative, preservation of traditional knowledge, equitable satellite data access, and sustainable management of critical minerals presents a transformative model rooted in fairness and shared progress. India’s narrative at the summit was one of responsibility and action—placing the Global South at the centre of global policymaking and pushing for practical frameworks that strengthen global resilience.

Equally significant was India’s assertive push for AI safeguards and UNSC reform. Modiji’s call for human-centric, transparent, and auditable AI reflects our belief that technology must empower humanity, not threaten it. His proposal for a global AI governance compact and a talent mobility framework signals India’s readiness to shape the ethical backbone of tomorrow’s digital world. At the same time, his strong pitch for UNSC reform—supported through IBSA coordination, digital innovation alliances, and climate-ready agriculture—highlights India’s stance that outdated global institutions cannot govern a rapidly evolving multipolar world. From our perspective, India’s engagement at the G20 showcased a nation stepping confidently into the role of global architect, advancing ideas that prioritize security, equity, and a technologically responsible future.

(Sources: Hindustan Times, Times of India, Economic Times)