New Delhi:

Delhi had decked up for the G20 summit, world leaders had flown in and the Centre’s bureaucratic machinery was working overtime to ensure a perfect show. But the summit’s success depended on one question: will there be consensus in the Leaders’ Declaration? And it is this question that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Sherpa Amitabh Kant an hour before the summit began.

Mr Kant has narrated this key exchange with the Prime Minister on the morning of September 9, 2023 in his book, “How India Scaled Mt G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency” (Rupa Publications). The Prime Minister had reached Bharat Mandapam to review the preparations.

“I was to brief him on our progress so far. When he enquired about the Leaders’ Declaration, I outlined the conflict between the US and China and informed him that the NDLD (New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration) was still not finalised,” Mr Kant writes in his book, news agency PTI has reported.

“He paused for a moment, wondering as to why bilateral issues were being raised in a multilateral meeting, before replying that he did not want to get into the procedures or the process, but wanted to see the result – a consensus – very soon. He expected the Sherpa to navigate and secure the final agreement,” he adds.

The book details the gruelling work that made summit a success. 

Prime Minister had announced a consensus on the 37-page declaration and its subsequent adoption at the start of the second session on the opening day of the summit.

Mr Kant has detailed in his book how New Delhi managed to navigate geopolitical currents and bilateral issues to reach this consensus.

“The text continued to face constant revisions and objections after 300 hours of negotiations over 250 bilateral meetings. The weight and seriousness of the negotiations were felt by all participants, but the pursuit of a mutually agreeable outcome still seemed far from reach,” he writes in the book.

The Prime Minister, he writes, was “acutely aware” of the stakes involved and had asked for regular briefings. “He had asked me to send him urgent situation reports every two hours, a task that demanded immense multitasking and quick analysis. This constant communication kept PM Modi informed, but also spurred us into action, helping us map out the negotiations and take stock of our progress,” he adds.

Mr Kant writes that Russia had insisted that the word ‘sanction’ be included in the declaration. Extensive discussions were held with Alexander Pankin, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to persuade them to reconsider this.

“The stakes were high, as refusal to compromise would have left Russia isolated with a 19-1 vote against it. We finally had to tell Russia that this was not feasible and would not be accepted by other countries. We made it abundantly clear to Russia that its insistence on this matter put significant pressure on India and made it impossible for us to move forward,” Mr Kant writes.

The G20 Sherpa has said that throughout the negotiations, G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US — pressured India to invite Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but India’s stance was to restrict the guest list to G20 leaders.

“On Dr Jaishankar’s advice, I had to inform the Russian negotiator that if they didn’t agree, the first speaker following PM Modi’s speech would be Zelenskyy. This bold and assertive negotiation tactic ultimately worked, and Russia relented,” Mr Kant writes.

There was another hurdle. Mr Kant writes that the head of the Chinese team pointed out a bilateral challenge with the US, stemming from a part of the declaration that stated that the 2026 G20 Summit would be hosted in the US.

The Chinese Sherpa, Mr Kant writes, explained that the US would not grant them visas, not even for their governor in Hong Kong. They would not agree to the geopolitical paras until they received a written guarantee that they would be issued visas, he says.

The leaders’ meeting started at 9 am and Mr Kant held parallel negotiations from 9.30 am to 11.30 am in a room adjacent to the Leaders’ Hall.

“I, along with (US Sherpa Mike) Pyle and Li (Kexin, head of the Chinese team), hammered out the details of the letter. We opted to use the term ‘ensure’ instead of ‘guarantee’. By noon, we had successfully resolved this bilateral matter, even though technically it was beyond the scope of India’s role as G20 Chair. All the countries, he says, were finally on board.

Mr Kant writes that sealing a consensus on the first day of the summit was “no small feat” and cites the example of the 2022 Bali submit, where negotiations on the declaration text dragged into the final hours.

New Delhi:

Delhi had decked up for the G20 summit, world leaders had flown in and the Centre’s bureaucratic machinery was working overtime to ensure a perfect show. But the summit’s success depended on one question: will there be consensus in the Leaders’ Declaration? And it is this question that Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked Sherpa Amitabh Kant an hour before the summit began.

Mr Kant has narrated this key exchange with the Prime Minister on the morning of September 9, 2023 in his book, “How India Scaled Mt G20: The Inside Story of the G20 Presidency” (Rupa Publications). The Prime Minister had reached Bharat Mandapam to review the preparations.

“I was to brief him on our progress so far. When he enquired about the Leaders’ Declaration, I outlined the conflict between the US and China and informed him that the NDLD (New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration) was still not finalised,” Mr Kant writes in his book, news agency PTI has reported.

“He paused for a moment, wondering as to why bilateral issues were being raised in a multilateral meeting, before replying that he did not want to get into the procedures or the process, but wanted to see the result – a consensus – very soon. He expected the Sherpa to navigate and secure the final agreement,” he adds.

The book details the gruelling work that made summit a success. 

Prime Minister had announced a consensus on the 37-page declaration and its subsequent adoption at the start of the second session on the opening day of the summit.

Mr Kant has detailed in his book how New Delhi managed to navigate geopolitical currents and bilateral issues to reach this consensus.

“The text continued to face constant revisions and objections after 300 hours of negotiations over 250 bilateral meetings. The weight and seriousness of the negotiations were felt by all participants, but the pursuit of a mutually agreeable outcome still seemed far from reach,” he writes in the book.

The Prime Minister, he writes, was “acutely aware” of the stakes involved and had asked for regular briefings. “He had asked me to send him urgent situation reports every two hours, a task that demanded immense multitasking and quick analysis. This constant communication kept PM Modi informed, but also spurred us into action, helping us map out the negotiations and take stock of our progress,” he adds.

Mr Kant writes that Russia had insisted that the word ‘sanction’ be included in the declaration. Extensive discussions were held with Alexander Pankin, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, to persuade them to reconsider this.

“The stakes were high, as refusal to compromise would have left Russia isolated with a 19-1 vote against it. We finally had to tell Russia that this was not feasible and would not be accepted by other countries. We made it abundantly clear to Russia that its insistence on this matter put significant pressure on India and made it impossible for us to move forward,” Mr Kant writes.

The G20 Sherpa has said that throughout the negotiations, G7 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US — pressured India to invite Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but India’s stance was to restrict the guest list to G20 leaders.

“On Dr Jaishankar’s advice, I had to inform the Russian negotiator that if they didn’t agree, the first speaker following PM Modi’s speech would be Zelenskyy. This bold and assertive negotiation tactic ultimately worked, and Russia relented,” Mr Kant writes.

There was another hurdle. Mr Kant writes that the head of the Chinese team pointed out a bilateral challenge with the US, stemming from a part of the declaration that stated that the 2026 G20 Summit would be hosted in the US.

The Chinese Sherpa, Mr Kant writes, explained that the US would not grant them visas, not even for their governor in Hong Kong. They would not agree to the geopolitical paras until they received a written guarantee that they would be issued visas, he says.

The leaders’ meeting started at 9 am and Mr Kant held parallel negotiations from 9.30 am to 11.30 am in a room adjacent to the Leaders’ Hall.

“I, along with (US Sherpa Mike) Pyle and Li (Kexin, head of the Chinese team), hammered out the details of the letter. We opted to use the term ‘ensure’ instead of ‘guarantee’. By noon, we had successfully resolved this bilateral matter, even though technically it was beyond the scope of India’s role as G20 Chair. All the countries, he says, were finally on board.

Mr Kant writes that sealing a consensus on the first day of the summit was “no small feat” and cites the example of the 2022 Bali submit, where negotiations on the declaration text dragged into the final hours.

India’s G20 Sherpa and former Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India’s circular economy could generate a market value of over $2 trillion and create 10 million jobs by 2050, the country’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said Monday (December 16, 2024).

Addressing an event here, Mr. Kant further said the circular economy can be a driver of growth, and this transition not only promises cost savings but also positions India to capitalise on the global circular economy market.

“This is a huge opportunity because, by 2050, India’s circular economy could generate a market value of over $2 trillion and create close to 10 million jobs,” he said.

Currently, the size of the Indian economy is $3.7 trillion.

Noting that industrialisation and urbanisation are creating an unsustainable India, Mr. Kant said, “We need circular economy as a beacon of hope”.

The country’s natural resources are depleted at an unsustainable pace, generating massive amounts of waste.

While pointing out that India is generating about close to 1.6 lakh tonnes of municipal solid waste per day, he said this underscores the urgency to move towards a model that decouples economic growth from resource extraction.

“It will be impossible to live in India. It will be impossible to work in India…therefore, the circular economy offers a really compelling solution to the dilemma that India is facing due to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation by keeping resources in use for as long as possible, extracting maximum value from them and regenerating natural systems,” Mr. Kant said.

According to Mr. Kant, the circular model not only reduces waste and environmental harm but also creates new economic opportunities.

India’s transition to circularity requires a deliberate and coordinated effort across sectors, and it has to be driven by innovation, R&D and robust policy intervention, he added.

New Delhi:

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant today spoke at the NDTV World Summit in Delhi where he mentioned that this will be “India’s century”.

Mr Kant highlighted how the world is mired in conflicts – both in Europe and in West Asia. While this is sad and unfortunate, he explained that it also presents India – a largely peace-loving and ambitious nation – with an opportunity to set up manufacturing hubs and encourage innovation.

“When you look around the world, there are 3 big challenges,” he said, adding that conflict is the first.

“Europe was responsible for World War I, it was also responsible for World War II, and now we have had a war there for the last 3 years. 45,000 people have died in Europe,” he said.

“Similarly, 350.000 people have died n the Middle East. The region is up in flames,” he added, going on to say that because of these wars, “global value chains are disrupted.”

The third, he said, is the “rise of AI and Machine Learning,” adding that “Huge enhancement of production is needed. But you need international cooperation to have some pro-innovation regulations on that,” he said.

India’s road to becoming a developed country by 2047 will require immense ambition and a focus on manufacturing, urbanisation and “firing on all cylinders”, Mr Kant said, adding that “India can’t grow only on the back of services, it needs to become a manufacturing nation. 17.5% of your GDP comes from manufacturing, you need to take it to 25%.”

The former NITI Aayog CEO further said that it India needs to be an integral part of global value chains. “You can’t grow at rates of 9-10% year after year for three decades or more – that’s what you need to do – so when we are talking of a ‘viksit’ (developed) Bharat or a $30-trillion economy in  2047, growing from 4 trillion to 30 trillion means that your GDP has to grow nine times, your per capita income has to grow 8 times and your manufacturing has to grow 16 times, that’s the challenge. And to overcome that challenge, India needs to become a very integral part of global value chains,” he said.

Mr Kant said India needs to export in a big way and that is why there has been a thrust on the production-linked investment scheme.

“You need 10,000 large manufacturing companies here to penetrate global markets. You need size and scale of manufacturing, and you need 12 Indian states to grow at 10% plus. So you need ambition and hunger in states to grow rapidly and you need large companies to penetrate global markets,” he said.

“To my mind,” he said “this is a huge opportunity for India in all 3 areas of growth. This will not just be India’s decade, but will be India’s century,” he affirmed.
 

New Delhi:

The Rs 76,000 crore “Semiconductor Mission” of the government is a critical move in view of possible Chinese control of the semiconductor market, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant told NDTV in an exclusive interview today. Speaking at the “NDTV World Summit”, Mr Kant said it is a very risky proposition for countries to be dependent on chip manufacturers from abroad. 

Calling the government’s Semiconductor Mission a “most dynamic measure”, he said it would be transformational in the years to come.

To explain this, he referred to a book on “chips war” by Chris Miller. “It says if China were to annex Taiwan tomorrow, it would control automobiles, batteries, defence and aerospace,” he said.  

“Because the whole world will be running on chips. That’s why for countries to be totally dependent on chip manufacturing from abroad is a dangerous proposition and therefore India must build its own ecosystem because we are a very large consumer of automobiles, of mobiles… every Indian has a smartphone and you need chips for that,” he said.

Even now, global supply chains across the world are badly disrupted because the US imposed huge duty on imports from China, he said — 100 per cent on electric vehicles, 50 per cent on batteries, on solar imports, to name a few.

The logic US applies is that China subsidises manufacturing, their government supports it. “Therefore they are doing extra production to penetrate global markets and that is why China is controlling 70 per cent EV market, 75 per cent of solar market, 74 per cent of the battery market… So we must put an end to this power supply on global market,” he added.

Cheistha Kochhar. Photo: Linkedin

An Indian student died after being run over by a truck while cycling back to her apartment in London last week, according to a social media post by Niti Aayog former CEO Amitabh Kant.

33-year-old Cheistha Kochhar was a Ph.D. student at the London School of Economics (LSE), her father retired Lieutenant General Dr. S.P. Kochhar said in a post on LinkedIn.

Cheistha Kochhar, who had previously worked with the public policy think-tank NITI Aayog, was pursuing her Ph.D. in Behavioural Science from LSE.

Mr. Amitabh Kant in his post on X said that Cheistha Kochhar had worked with him on the LIFE programme in Niti Aayog. He described her bright, brilliant brave and always full of life. “Cheistha Kochar worked with me on the #LIFE programme in @NITIAayog. She was in the #Nudge unit and had gone to do her Ph.D. in behavioural science at #LSE Passed away in a terrible traffic incident while cycling in London. She was bright, brilliant & brave and always full of life. Gone away too early. RIP.”

Mission LiFE is an India-led global mass movement to nudge individual and community action to protect and preserve the environment. Lieutenant General Kochhar (Retd.) stated that he is still in London trying to collect the remains of his daughter, Cheistha Kocchar. In a post on LinkedIn, Lieutenant General Kochhar stated, “I am still in London trying to collect the remains of my daughter, Cheistha Kochhar. She was run over by a truck on 19 Mar while cycling back from LSE, where she was doing her PhD. It has devastated us and her large circle of friends.”

Cheistha Kochhar was a doctoral candidate at the LSE since September 2023, according to her LinkedIn profile. Prior to that she worked as Senior Advisor in the National Behavioural Insights Unit of India, Niti Aayog from June 2021 — April 2023. Previously, she worked as Associate Director in Centre for Social and Behaviour Change. She had completed her studies at Delhi University, Ashoka University, and the Universities of Pennsylvania and Chicago.

New Delhi:

India is poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy and the challenge for the country will be to grow at 8-9 per cent for the next three decades, India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Thursday.

Addressing an event organised by Public Affairs Forum of India (PAFI) New Delhi, Amitabh Kant said India’s economy can’t grow at higher rates without the support of the private sector.

“This is India’s moment. India is poised to become a USD 5 trillion economy,” he said, adding that the government has pushed the limit on infrastructure.

“The challenge (for India) is to grow at 8-9 per cent for three decades,” he said. Pointing out that presently the size of China’s economy is five times of India, Amitabh Kant said, “To catch up with China, we will have to grow at 10 per cent.” Asserting that the quality of Indian airports is better than those in Europe, he said, “Our domestic airlines are also much better than international airlines.” India’s growth story will remain intact, he said, while emphasising on the need to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to bring sustainable growth.

“You can’t make technology leapfrog without using AI,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday praised India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant for “negotiations” with China and Russia to reach consensus on a joint communique from G20 leaders on the bloc’s stance on Ukraine war. Taking to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) account, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said that it is a “proud moment” for India at G20.

“Well done Amitabh Kant! Looks lile (sic) the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS,” Mr Tharoor said, and tagged an NDTV article on Mr Kant.

Well done ⁦@amitabhk87⁩! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! “Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,” says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus.
A proud moment for India at G20! https://t.co/9M0ki7appY

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2023

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, spoke to NDTV and said that nearly 200 hours of “nonstop negotiations” were needed to ensure a joint communique from G20 leaders divided over the group’s stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. He said the declaration was the result of multiple rounds of talks – from discussions with developing economies about the war’s economic impact to bilateral meets with Russia and China – and that consensus was only reached late Friday night.

Mr Kant, a former Niti Aayog head, also stated that the key was “working in partnership with sherpas” and that it was a joint effort of emerging markets – led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, and later Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – that brought pressure to bear on G7 nations and brought them to the table.

“(There were) close to 200 hours of nonstop negotiations… the Bali paragraph had broken down and we were struggling for nine months. Then, in one meeting, I took a plain screen and scribbled 15 basic principles we needed to follow. All sherpas then joined in and gave their perspectives,” India’s G20 Sherpa said.

“Based on this, we created a first draft… nobody really expected we would arrive at a consensus. The first draft triggered a number of reactions… people were pessimistic that we could every arrive at a consensus on Russia and Ukraine because multilateral forums across the world had failed to do so,” he added.

“From the first draft we went to a second… and a third. After that, I think what helped were bilateral meets with each country,” Mr Kant told NDTV.

“Important thing was to draw each nation’s red lines,” he said.

New Delhi:

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday praised India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant for “negotiations” with China and Russia to reach consensus on a joint communique from G20 leaders on the bloc’s stance on Ukraine war. Taking to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) account, the Lok Sabha MP from Kerala said that it is a “proud moment” for India at G20.

“Well done Amitabh Kant! Looks lile (sic) the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS,” Mr Tharoor said, and tagged an NDTV article on Mr Kant.

Well done ⁦@amitabhk87⁩! Looks lile the IFS lost an ace diplomat when you opted for the IAS! “Negotiated with Russia, China, only last night got final draft,” says India’s G20 Sherpa on ‘Delhi Declaration’ consensus.
A proud moment for India at G20! https://t.co/9M0ki7appY

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) September 9, 2023

Earlier on Saturday, Mr Kant, a 1980-batch IAS officer of Kerala Cadre, spoke to NDTV and said that nearly 200 hours of “nonstop negotiations” were needed to ensure a joint communique from G20 leaders divided over the group’s stance on Russia’s war on Ukraine. He said the declaration was the result of multiple rounds of talks – from discussions with developing economies about the war’s economic impact to bilateral meets with Russia and China – and that consensus was only reached late Friday night.

Mr Kant, a former Niti Aayog head, also stated that the key was “working in partnership with sherpas” and that it was a joint effort of emerging markets – led by India, Brazil, South Africa and Indonesia, and later Mexico, Turkey and Saudi Arabia – that brought pressure to bear on G7 nations and brought them to the table.

“(There were) close to 200 hours of nonstop negotiations… the Bali paragraph had broken down and we were struggling for nine months. Then, in one meeting, I took a plain screen and scribbled 15 basic principles we needed to follow. All sherpas then joined in and gave their perspectives,” India’s G20 Sherpa said.

“Based on this, we created a first draft… nobody really expected we would arrive at a consensus. The first draft triggered a number of reactions… people were pessimistic that we could every arrive at a consensus on Russia and Ukraine because multilateral forums across the world had failed to do so,” he added.

“From the first draft we went to a second… and a third. After that, I think what helped were bilateral meets with each country,” Mr Kant told NDTV.

“Important thing was to draw each nation’s red lines,” he said.

New Delhi:

On Chinese President Xi Jinping not attending the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 9-10, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Friday said China is a multilateral player and discussions at multilateral level are very different from bilateral issues.

He said China discusses issues of growth, development from its own perspective.

“China is a multilateral player. In multilateral discussions, the issues are very different from bilateral issues and the Chinese discuss issues of growth, and development from their own perspective. The challenge about any multilateral discussion is you have to bring consensus across every issue, every country has veto power. We’ve been able to work with every single country and bring them on board…” Mr Kant said in a press briefing prior to the G20 Summit.

Mr Kant further said that one of the key takeaways of India’s presidency is that the world acknowledges that the country has truly revolutionized technology through the digital public infrastructure.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently announced that Chinese Premier Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India on September 9 and 10.

Quoting foreign ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, the statement read, “At the invitation of the government of the Republic of India, Premier of the State Council Li Qiang will attend the 18th G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi, India, on September 9 and 10.”

However, no reason was given in the statement about Xi’s absence from the summit.

Earlier, Reuters had reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping is likely to skip the G20 Summit to be held in India.

Sources in China, two of whom said they were informed by Chinese officials, added they were not aware of the reason for Xi’s expected absence, according to Reuters.

The Chinese President has made few overseas trips since China abruptly dropped its Covid restrictions. He, however, attended the BRICS Summit in South Africa last week.

Several G20 ministerial meetings in India ahead of the summit have been contentious as Russia and China together opposed joint statements which included paragraphs condemning Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine last year, according to Reuters.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Xi on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit during which he highlighted India’s concerns over the unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), in Ladakh.

The two leaders agreed to direct their relevant officials “to intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation”.

Along with Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin will also not attend the summit in India.

According to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lavrov is expected to attend two plenary sessions on September 9 and 10. Lavrov is scheduled to hold several bilateral talks and contacts on the sidelines of the summit.

Meanwhile, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra has said, “The coming together of the 41 Heads of delegations, Heads of State/Govt, Heads of international organisations in India, starting yesterday is under PM’s personal leadership and direction. It is essentially a celebration of the coming together of the G 20 family…This is the largest-ever participation of the Global South in India.”

India assumed the G20 presidency on December 1 last year and about 200 meetings related to G20 were organized in 60 cities across the country.

The 18th G20 Summit will be a culmination of all the G20 processes and meetings held throughout the year among ministers, senior officials, and civil societies.

One of the takeaways of India’s G20 presidency is the revolutionization of Digital Payment Infrastructure, as initially very few people knew about it, but it has taken forward extensively, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Friday.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)