Gandhinagar: India’s G20 Presidency, has officially commenced from 1st December, 2022. Gujarat is also playing its role by hosting a series of discussions, deliberations, and meetings. The first in the list of 15 events- the Business 20 Inception Meeting has begun at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar.

The Opening Session of the B20 Inception Meeting was attended by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal,  Union Minister of Railways Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw,  Union MOS for Commerce and Industry Shri Som Prakash, Mr. N. Chandrasekaran, Chair, B20 India and Chairman, Tata Sons, Shri Amitabh Kant, India’s Sherpa to G20 and Shri Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Government of India, Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and M.D Bajaj Finserv Ltd.

Shri Piyush Goyal, in his address, said, “4’I’s that are driving India’s growth are massive investments in infrastructure, our focus on integrity, inclusive development & international outlook.”

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “4 approaches India has taken to resolve some of its pressing problems include approaches towards economic management, digital economy, regulation in digital economy & new technologies.” He also said that the combined approach of focused consumption & investment gave a long-term productivity boost to India, which resulted in robust growth along with moderate inflation.
Union MOS Shri Som Prakash talked about the Indian industries’ priorities namely Green Development & climate finance, Inclusive & resilient Growth and to achieve targets of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

India’s Sherpa to G20, in his address said, “The challenges before us are (1) The need for tremendous digital transformation, (2) Need for climate action, (3) Making our GVCs resilient, which will require decoupling & de-monopolization.”

Shri Anurag Jain, in his address said that Knowledge, innovation & sustainability have emerged as new age growth drivers & B20 will recognize these & make suitable recommendations.

This event was followed by a Special Plenary on B20 India Priorities. This was attended by Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Chairman and M.D, Bajaj Finserv; Mr. Charles Rick Johnstone, Chairman, Business at OECD and Mr. Michael Froman, Vice Chairman and President, Mastercard.

Sessions on various fields and topics of global relevance took place throughout the day. They are as under:
· Session-1: “Climate Change: Accelerating towards net zero energy for greener and sustainable future”
· Session-2: “Rethinking and Revitalizing Innovation to Drive Inclusive Impact”
· Session-3: “Redefining the global digital cooperation: a call for action”
· Session-4: “Building resilient global value chains: advancing inclusion and integration of all”
· Session-5: “Fostering financial inclusion and empowering societies”

Some of the speakers include Ms. Quint Simon, Head of Public Policy APAC, Amazon Web Services, Dr. Amitendu Palit, Senior Research Fellow and Research Leads, National University of Singapore, Lord Udny-Lister of Wandsworth, Senior Advisor to Group Chairman, HSBC, Ms. Roshni Nadar, Chairperson, HCL Technologies Ltd, Prof Soumitra Dutta, Dean, Said Business School, University of Oxford and many others.
A special session on “Gujarat’s G20 Connect” was held in the later half of the day. Special transformative initiatives undertaken by the Gujarat government were discussed in this session. To add, a film on Gujarat was showcased.  Energy Minister Shri Kanubhai Desai,  Minister of Industry Shri Balwantsinh Rajput and Managing Director of TDS Lithium-Ion Battery Gujarat Private Limited Mr. Hisanori Takashiba spoke on ‘Gujarat: Accelerating Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.’
Mr. Pankaj Patel, Chairman of Zydus Life Sciences and Mr. Kulin Lalbhai, Executive Director of Arvind Limited also gave their insights during the session.

A special plenary session on ‘Opportunities in Gujarat’ was attended by more than 25o delegates from associated industries. It provided a glimpse into the business and investment opportunities in Gujarat and showcased the strengths due to which the state has emerged as a preferred choice for investors, over the years. This session was attended by Minister of Finance Shri Kanubhai Desai, Minister of Industries Shri Balvantsinh Rajput, Chief Secretary Shri Pankaj Kumar and ACS, Industries and Mines, Shri Rajkumar.

On 24th January, the state government has organised a Yoga Session and Eco-Tour at Punit Van as well as an excursion to GIFT City. The delegates will visit the Automated Waste Collected System, District Cooling System and Utility Tunnel at GIFT city. GIFT City is India’s first International Fin-Tech City. The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the International Financial Services Centres Auhtority (IFSCA) building in 2022.They will also visit the Stepwell at Adalaj.