Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday explained to top world leaders how the countries of the Global South have been most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crisis due to ongoing conflicts.

Speaking at the G20 Summit in Brazil on “Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty,” he said the gathering of the top leaders can only be successful if the challenges and priorities of the Global South are kept in mind.

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”And just as we amplified the voice of the Global south by granting permanent membership of G20 to the African Union during the New Delhi Summit, we will reform institutions of global governance,” the PM said.

Sharing with the G20 leaders India’s experiences, Mr Modi said the country has lifted 250 million people out of poverty over the last ten years. ”Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost. 550 million people are benefiting from the world’s biggest health insurance scheme. Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance,” he added.

The PM said that over 300 million women micro entrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit. Under the world’s largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth $20 billion, he added.

Under the farmers scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers, he said, adding institutional credit worth 300 billion US dollars is being given to farmers.

”India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on Nutrition. The Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0 campaign, which is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme, focuses in particular on nutrition for pregnant women, newborn babies, children under the age of 6, and adolescent girls,” he added.

The PM said that through the Mid Day Meal scheme special attention is being paid to the nutritional needs of school going children. India is also contributing to global food security.

”The main reason for our success is our approach: ‘back to basics’ and ‘march to the future’. We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets,” the PM said.

He said India has developed over 2000 climate resilient crop varieties and has started the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’. The country’s Digital public Infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion.

”With the Aspirational Districts and Blocks project we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link,” he added

Earlier, the PM arrived in Brazil to a rousing welcome on the second leg of his three-nation visit to attend the G20 Summit. The PM reached Rio de Janeiro after concluding a successful visit to Nigeria.

The celebrations outside the hotel, where he will stay, included a traditional dandiya ceremony with dancers dressed in vibrant Gujarati attire, as well as chants of Vedic mantras performed by Brazilian scholars. Members of the diaspora waved the Indian tricolour and chanted ”Modi, Modi” as soon as he arrived at the hotel.

In a social media post on ‘X’, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi lands in the vibrant city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to attend the G20 Brazil Summit.” It also shared pictures of PM Modi’s welcome at the airport.

On his official X handle, the PM wrote, “Landed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to take part in the G20 Summit. I look forward to the summit deliberations and fruitful talks with various world leaders.” In Brazil, he will attend the 19th G20 Summit as a member of the Troika. India is part of the G20 Troika along with Brazil and South Africa.

Besides Mr Modi, the summit is to be attended by top world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.