G20 pan-India presidency helped showcase country's culture, says Amitabh Kant

India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant on Wednesday said the summit, which happened in December 2023, helped spread the country’s culture by making it a pan-India presidency. Speaking at News18 Network's 'News18 Rising Bharat Summit', he also said it is India's time now and "we are not aping the West any more."

"Normally G20 is held in one city, PM Modi wanted it in 60 cities to become people's G20. It was used to spread culture, we made it pan India presidency," Kant said.

He further said, "What we have achieved in digitisation, climate change, infrastructure, there is huge sense of national pride. We are not aping the West anymore, vestiges of colonialism have gone, we are going back to our roots. we want to be modern progressive nation based on our own civilisation. Bharat gives you that sense, time is now to be aspirational."

Kant also highlighted the fact that the G20 was able to achieve consensus on the most divisive issues such as green development and women-led development and it was possible because of India's leadership. India has been growing spectacularly, and with a demographic where the average age is 29 the opportunities are massive and the world understands this.