Free trade based growth, climate action key priorities for India: Kant

Speaking at the B20 Summit India 2023 organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kant said India's developmental philosophy rests on having a human centric approach

A push for growth with free trade, concerted action on climate change and financing, accelerating the pace of outcomes of sustainable development goals (SDGs), digital transformation, and women-led development, are the key priorities for India’s G20 Presidency, G20 India Sherpa Amitabh Kant said.

Speaking at the B20 Summit India 2023 organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Kant said India’s developmental philosophy rests on having a human centric approach, which is encapsulated in its G20 motto of “one earth, one family and one future'. The priorities have been designed to achieve this, he said.

Arguing that critical developmental issues — such as climate financing ensuring progress on SDGs — require substantial resources, Kant said all growth in the coming decades is set to come from the Global South, primarily on account of its young demographic profile.

Therefore, there is a need for resources to address the growth and development needs of this region and to build new approaches, institutions and financial instruments that would accelerate its growth, he said.

India is ready to share its experiences in key areas such as use of digital tools and financial inclusion initiatives, he added. Case in point, the government has promoted key made in India digital public infrastructure tools such as Aadhar, Co-Win, UPI, DigiLocker, and India’s Artificial Intelligence-based language platform Bhashini to the G20 nations