Yellen: Working to boost India’s energy transition: Yellen – Times of India

GANDHINAGAR: While referring to India as one of America’s “closest partners”, treasury secretary Janet Yellen on Monday said that the US is working with India on an investment platform to lower the cost of capital and step up private investment in the country’s energy transition.
The statement, which came after a bilateral meeting with finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, also suggested a common position with India on reforming multilateral development banks (MDBs) as well as a global tax deal. The 2021 deal saw over a hundred countries agree to a minimum tax of 15% on large firms with a global footprint.
“Today, our discussions highlight the commitment of India and the United States to actively further the G20 agenda. These include: Addressing critical global issues such as strengthening MDBs and taking coordinated climate action, facilitating consensus to intractable issues associated with rising indebtedness of lowand middle-income countries; and, harnessing opportunities presented by cryptoassets and digital public infrastructure for financial inclusion,” the FM said. India has identified some of these issues as its priorities for a decision by the time leaders from the G20 nations’ meet in Delhi in September.
The global economic growth outlook remains uncertain with downside risks, FM said at G20 meet. “Since we last met in April, the global economy is below its long-run average, and remains uneven,” Sitharaman said. The FM is chairing the meet along with RBI governor Shaktikanta Das. “The uncertainty around the outlook remains high, and downside risks still persist, including those related to geo-economic fragmentation. What we need are coordinated international efforts to navigate this challenging period,” she said.
Lauding India’s efforts to reform MDBs , Yellen said, “It is vital that we use meetings like this to strengthen our coalition of shareholders that are working together to press for more ambition and specific reforms with respect to the MDBs’ vision, incentive structures, operational approaches, and financial capacity to better address global challenges. ”
She added, MDBs could unlock $200 billion over the next decade just from the measures already being implemented or under deliberation as part of this process.