The second Sherpa meeting under India’s G20 Presidency, chaired by India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, began in the beautiful village of Kumarakom in Kerala on Thursday. The Sherpa meeting side event saw a wide range of discussions on Digital Public Infrastructure along with solutions to contemporary global challenges.Discussions on solving global challenges through digital public infrastructure in the G20 Sherpa meetingtook place. G20 members stressed policy approach and concrete implementation on issues of economic and global concern Glimpses of growing steps of Digital India seen in DPI Experience Zone Kumarakom (Kerala), on 30 March 2023.
The four-day meeting began with two high-level co-events – Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Green Development. The Digital Public Infrastructure co-event, organized in partnership with NASSCOM, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), kicked off with an immersive digital experience for all G20 delegates. The event on Digital Public Infrastructure discussed India’s experience and leadership in an integrated and effective implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure for the effective delivery of public and private services. In addition, there was a panel discussion on global challenges and opportunities for creating a growth-oriented and inclusive DPI. The DPI co-event was addressed by Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder, and Chairman of IT giant Infosys Technologies Limited, Thierry Breton, Commissioner for the Internal Market of the European Union, Priya Vora, Managing Director of Digital Impact Alliance and Pramod Verma, CTO of ExStep Foundation. Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM, and other business leaders presented their views on the role of DPI in the start-up ecosystem during the event.
A Digital Public Infrastructure Experience Zone has also been set up as part of this programme. This digital zone has been set up to showcase the benefits of using digital public infrastructure to society and the country’s success stories in solving problems in this area. This digital sector will also showcase various digitization initiatives during the entire event.
On the other hand, the program on green development is taking place at the international level against the backdrop of the urgent need to improve the environment for the society. This program supports low-carbon lifestyles in all countries. It aims to work in line with the G20 efforts to facilitate sustainable finance and promote demand-driven, scaled development according to local conditions. Apart from India, Amitabh Kant also led discussions with Indonesia and Brazil, which are part of the Troika. Simultaneously, in meetings to be held in various sessions, Kant interacts with G20 Sherpas and heads of delegations of G20 members, international organizations including emerging market economies (EMEs), the Global South as well as advanced economies (AEs) on issues and interactions. We will also discuss shared priorities in ways that can be beneficial.
In the meantime, the outcomes emerging from the various Sherpa Track and Finance Track meetings will be taken forward ahead of the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi in September 2023.
