The intergovernmental forum “Group of Twenty” or G20 — comprising 19 countries and the European Union — is the premier forum for international economic cooperation among the world’s major developed and developing economies.

It has several engagement groups for spheres like business, youth, parliament, and women. One of the working groups is dedicated to science and is called Science 20 or S20.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, announced on 26 December that it will be the secretariat for S20.

Initiated during Germany’s presidency in 2017, the S20 group comprises the national science academies of the G20 countries. Its mandate is to present policymakers with “consensus-based science-driven recommendations.”

India assumed the G20 presidency from 1 December. It will steer the G20 agenda and host the summit during its term, which will conclude November-end 2023.

India's inspiration during its presidency will be its age-old idea of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam," which translates to "the world is one family."

The G20 secretariat is responsible for organising and coordinating G20 meetings across the country during the course of the presidency. India is expected to host over 200 G20 meetings over the year.

The working group meetings will commence from January 2023. Science (S20) will be a focus area then, alongside ideas (Think 20), business (Business 20), and startups (Startup 20).

The S20 inception meeting will take place on 30-31 January in Puducherry with the theme “Disruptive Science for Innovative and Sustainable Development.”

As part of S20, India has proposed the following themes for the period of its presidency:

A call for universal holistic health, with an emphasis on prevention of disease
Adoption of clean energy for a greener future
Connecting science to society and culture

According to IISc, deliberations within the broad theme and the three focus points will take place in Agartala, Lakshadweep, and Bhopal.

“India is uniquely placed to drive the agenda of S20 forward,” IISc said in its statement, referring to the birth and growth of ideas across areas like politics, culture, and science in India since time immemorial.

“The list of discoveries and innovations made over the centuries reveals India’s rich heritage of scientific inquiry – in architecture, astronomy, mathematics, medicine, metallurgy, textiles, ship building, town planning, textiles and more,” the statement said.

The S20 India team is made up of Nalanda University Chancellor Dr Vijay P Bhatkar (chair), Principal Scientific Advisor to the Prime Minister of India Dr Ajay Kumar Sood, and IISc’s Professor Gautam Desiraju.

In a recent article for Swarajya, S20 India team member Professor Desiraju said: “Without scientific excellence, in terms of both quality and quantity, we (India) have no chance at all of becoming a developed country.”

He highlighted investment as a primary concern in this regard, asking for education and research spend to go up from 0.8 per cent of GDP to about 3-4 per cent “at the very least.”

The G20 is a highly influential forum — the members account for two-thirds of the world’s population, with 85 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 75 per cent of international trade.

Science 20

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