India at the UN high table

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's virtual address to the 75th session of the United General Assembly

Need for an accelerated reform at the UN's decision-making structures

• Realignment of economic power since World War II: Today, neither Britain, nor France, nor Russia figures among the world's five largest economies. 

• Rising Asia's rising power: There is no reason that India and Japan cannot find permanent seats on the Security Council

• The German claim: German claim for a permanent seat is also legitimate as they are the largest and most influential economy in Europe.

• United States abdicating its responsibilities: the US has stopped funding the World Health Organization for its admittedly tardy response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a means of punishing China.

India's Credentials for the UN- Security Council's Permanent Seat

• India is the world's largest democracy and home to 1.3 billion

• Significance of India in UN:  Country's significance can be gauged from the fact that in June it won an overwhelming vote — 184 out of 192 ballots cast, 

• This is the eighth time that India has held this position.

• India's role as a responsible player on the global stage: 

• World's Policemen:  Almost 200,000 Indian troops have served in 49 of the 71 UN peacekeeping forces expeditions, fulfilling its core mandate of being the "world's policeman". 

• Role of India as a reliable partner in the global fight against Covid-19- Indian support is crucial when the leader of the sole superpower(US)  is abdicating its global responsibilities

Conclusion: UN's struggle for relevance in a multi-polar world, where the post-war consensus is visibly fragmenting, is precise because its decision-making structures are out of alignment with the new world order.