Sherpa of G-20: Former CEO of Government’s think tank NITI Aayog, Amitabh Kant, has been selected to serve as India's new G-20 Sherpa.

Key Points:

• He will be replacing Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal as G-20 Sherpa.
• Shri Piyush Goyal was appointed as G-20 Sherpa in September 2021.
• With the G-20 presidency coming to India, a full-time Sherpa is required who would be needed to devote a lot of time to meetings that will be held in different parts of the country.
• India will take over the G20 presidency from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023.
• Other Sherpas for G-20 include Shaktikanta Das, Suresh Prabhu and Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

About Amitabh Kant:

• Amitabh Kant is a 1980 batch retired IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
• He was the second chief executive officer of NITI Aayog, a public policy think tank of the Government of India (GoI).
• He assumed charges as NITI Aayog CEO in 2016.
• He completed his extended term in June 2022.
• He is the author of Branding India – An Incredible Story, The Path Ahead: Transformative Ideas for India, and Incredible India 2.0- Synergies for Growth and Governance.
• He has also been the chairman of Empowered Group-3, which is one among the 11 groups set up by the central government for controlling the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

Who is a Sherpas?

• A Sherpa is a personal representative of the leader of a member country at an international Summit meeting such as the G8, G20, the Nuclear Security Summit, etc.
• Sherpas are career diplomats or senior government officials appointed by the leaders of their countries.

Etymology: The term is derived from the Nepalese Sherpa people, who serve as guides for mountaineers in the Himalayas.

Task of a Sherpa:

• The Sherpa engages in planning, negotiation and implementation tasks through the Summit.
• They coordinate the agenda, seek consensus at the highest political levels, and participate in a series of pre-Summit consultations to help negotiate their leaders’ positions.

Role of Indian Sherpa:

• The Sherpa is likely to dedicate a significant amount of time to many meetings that are slated to take place around India during India’s presidency to G20.

About G-20:

• The G20 means the Group of Twenty.
• It is an international forum for the governments and central bank governors from 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
• The membership of the G20 consists of 19 individual countries plus the European Union. The members of the G20 group are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Republic of Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union (EU).
• The EU is represented by the European Commission and by the European Central Bank.
• It was established on 26 September 1999 with an aim to discuss policy pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability. 
• The main objective of the G20 is to unite world leaders around shared economic, political and health challenges.

 India’s Presidency at G20:

• India has been a member of the G20 since its inception in 1999.
• India will be holding the G20 Presidency from 1 December 2022.
• While holding the G-20 presidency, India will prepare agenda for the year.
• It will identify focus areas & themes, work on outcome documents and conduct discussions.

Division of G-20 process:

The G-20 process has been categorized into two tracks - the Sherpa track and the Finance track.

1)Sherpa Track:

Under the Sherpa track, around 100 official meetings will be held in the areas related to health, employment, trade, digital economy, energy, investment & industry, agriculture, environment & climate, anti-corruption, culture, tourism, education, socio-economic development, and women empowerment.

2)Finance Track:

Under the Finance track, 40 meetings will be held in areas of international financial architecture, financing for infrastructure, financial inclusion & sustainable finance, tax matters and climate finance.

G-20 Leaders’ Summit:

• India will convene the G20 Leaders’ Summit in 2023 for the first time.
• India will also be part of the G20 Troika (preceding, current, and incoming G20 Presidencies) from 1 December 2021 till 30 November 2024.