Amitabh Kant resigns as G20 sherpa

New Delhi: Amitabh Kant, who managed diverse assignments during his 45 years in government service, has resigned as the G20 Sherpa.

Kant, a retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Kerala cadre, was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022, months before India assumed the G20 Presidency.

In a social media post titled 'My New Journey' Kant said, "After 45 years of dedicated government service, I have made the decision to embrace new opportunities and move forward in life. I am incredibly thankful to the Prime Minister of India for accepting my resignation as G20 Sherpa and for having given me the opportunity to drive a range of developmental initiatives and contribute to the growth, development, and progress of India." Kant, who was the face behind India's G20 preparations, said leading multilateral negotiations as India's G20 Sherpa have been one of the most significant milestones in his career.

In 2023, Kant said India executed one of the most inclusive, ambitious, action-oriented, and decisive G20 presidencies ever seen in the history of the forum.

"We achieved unanimous consensus on the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration, despite significant geopolitical challenges, managing to refocus the world's attention on critical developmental priorities such as digital public infrastructure, multilateral financial reform, climate finance, and women-led development," he said.

He said India held G20 meetings across every state and Union Territory, which contributed significantly to cooperative federalism by beautifying and upgrading cities, engaging local artists and craftsmen, and promoting local cuisines.

"We also successfully expanded the G20's scope to include the African Union, fulfilling India's promise and commitment to global inclusivity and collaboration with the Global South," Kant said.

Earlier, as CEO of NITI Aayog from 2016-2022, Kant said he had the privilege of being part of the transformative Aspirational Districts Programme, which uplifted 115 of India's most backward districts by improving socio-economic indicators and creating opportunities for millions of our citizens.

"During those 6+ years, NITI played a key role in pushing digital public infrastructure through policy, and helped lay the foundational groundwork for India's digital revolution," Kant said, adding that through the production-linked incentive schemes to boost manufacturing and accelerate industrial growth, the Green Hydrogen Mission, advanced chemistry cells, and the Atal Innovation Mission, the Aayog played a key role in positioning India as a global leader in climate action, cutting-edge innovation, and sustainable enterprise.

Kant said his tenure as Secretary of the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, now called the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, was dedicated to reform and liberalisation, with focus on ease of doing business, and the Make in India and Startup India initiatives, which continue to act as a framework for India's thriving ecosystem of manufacturing.

Throughout his career, Kant said he has been guided by a strong sense of service to a place and its people.

"Kerala was the first home to my IAS career, and I drew deeply from its communities — initiating the 'God's Own Country' campaign, supporting the expansion of Calicut Airport, and working closely with the fishermen and women of Kerala," the former NITI Aayog CEO said.

Kant said he took everything he learnt and poured it into policies at the Centre -- 'Incredible India' was born during his time as Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Tourism because he saw what shining a light India's diversity can do for the economy, ecology, and essence of a place.

"India has, and will always be, Incredible. In a small way, I have contributed to helping the world recognise that," he said.

Kant said he also said he is incredibly grateful to ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and S Jaishankar for their inspiration, guidance, and trust.

"I now look forward to contributing to India's transformational journey towards Viksit Bharat by facilitating and supporting free enterprise, startups, think tanks, and academic institutions," he said.