Union Science and Technology Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on Friday, 19 June 2026 highlighted India's growing diplomatic stature, asserting that the country has emerged as a key voice for the Global South in major international forums including BRICS and the G20. The minister made the remarks in a post on X under the hashtag #12YearsOfIndiaFirst, framing India's multilateral engagement as a push for inclusive dialogue and greater balance in global decision-making.

Context

Dr. Jitendra Singh's post underscores a foreign-policy posture that has defined Indian diplomacy over the past decade. Describing India's role, he wrote that the country's presence in global forums 'reflects a broader push for inclusive dialogue, stronger cooperation among developing nations, and greater balance in international decision-making.' The hashtag #12YearsOfIndiaFirst situates the statement within a broader political narrative marking twelve years of the current government's governance philosophy.

The assertion comes at a moment when the architecture of multilateral institutions is under sustained scrutiny from the developing world, and India has repeatedly positioned itself as a bridge between the established powers and the wider Global South.

Policy Backdrop

India's 2023 G20 presidency — held under the theme Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (One Earth, One Family, One Future) — marked a watershed moment by placing Global South priorities on the official G20 agenda for the first time. The Voice of the Global South Summit, convened in January 2023 in New Delhi, brought together over 100 developing nations and produced a consolidated set of demands on climate finance, food security, and debt relief that India carried into the G20 leaders' meeting.

On the BRICS front, the 2023 Johannesburg Declaration endorsed the bloc's expansion to include new members from Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America, while also calling for reform of multilateral institutions to improve developing-country representation. India's long-standing demand for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, reiterated at successive General Assembly sessions since 2015, forms an integral pillar of the same reform narrative.

Parallel coalitions such as the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuel Alliance — both India-led — have reinforced New Delhi's strategy of building developing-country groupings around shared economic and energy interests, giving diplomatic weight to its multilateral advocacy.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of India's Global South advocacy are the scores of developing and least-developed nations that have historically found their priorities marginalised in forums dominated by G7 economies. For these countries, India's seat at the high table in both BRICS and the G20 offers a channel to amplify demands on climate finance, technology transfer, and equitable trade rules.

Domestically, the framing also carries political resonance: projecting India as a champion of the developing world reinforces the government's narrative of an assertive, self-reliant foreign policy that punches above its weight. The #12YearsOfIndiaFirst hashtag signals that this diplomatic record will be a key plank in the ruling party's political communication.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to India's interventions at forthcoming BRICS and G20 summits, where New Delhi is expected to push for concrete follow-through on commitments made during its own G20 presidency. The continuation of the Voice of the Global South process — and whether India can sustain momentum for multilateral governance reform — will be the real test of the diplomatic influence Dr. Jitendra Singh's post celebrates.

As the international order faces pressure from multiple directions, India's ability to hold together a diverse coalition of developing nations while maintaining strategic autonomy will define the next chapter of its Global South leadership.