Amitabh Kant

Amitabh Kant to lead panel to examine stalled real estate projects

The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry has set up a 14-member committee headed by former NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to examine issues related to stalled real estate projects and recommend various ways for their completion. According to an order issued by the ministry on March 31, the committee will submit its report within six months from the date of its first meeting. The 14-member panel will deliberate on the issues of legacy stalled projects and suggest ways to complete and hand over these projects to homebuyers in a time-bound manner, the order states. The Central Advisory Council chaired by Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had decided on forming such a committee about a year ago. The committee comprises top central and state government officials, including the secretary in the department of financial services in the Union Ministry of Finance, the principal secretary of the housing and urban planning department of Uttar Pradesh and the chairper

Culture, cuisine and crafts on sherpas' menu at G20 meet in Kerala

From 'lagoon lake' conversations to caparisoned 'elephant walk', the meet had many touristy elements

Consensus on 99% issues, readying first draft by July: G20 Sherpa Kant

"India is looking to evangelise its successes in digital public infrastructure through its G20 Presidency to all 133 nations that do not yet have fast digital payments"

Developed world will slow down, emerging markets will grow: Amitabh Kant

India will play a lead role during its G20 presidency in redefining and reshaping the world which is facing multiple challenges, Indian Sherpa Amitabh Kant said here on Sunday. Talking about the trend in the past 10 years, Kant told PTI that the developed world would slow down and emerging markets would grow. Resources should therefore flow from the former to the latter so that emerging markets improve, he said. The G20 members represent around 85 per cent of global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world's population. Spelling out the challenges being faced by the world, Kant said this included slowdown affecting growth, 75 countries getting into global debt, millions of people becoming jobless and several millions falling below the poverty line. "All these require very accelerated action by G20, and when G20 acts, the multilateral institutions act. Therefore, India will use this opportunity to redefine and reshape the world in many ways. And that

G20 Sherpas hold deliberations in traditional attire on houseboats

Wearing traditional Kerala dress and enjoying a taste of Kerala's hospitality, G20 Sherpas held deliberations on land and water at this scenic lakeside Kerala village. While the Sherpas held meetings in the conference hall on top of a moving houseboat in the evening, other delegates from guest countries went on a cruise on the backwaters, enjoying the scenery and a hi-tea spread onboard. Three big houseboats with conference halls were arranged for the cruise of the Sherpas and delegates through Kumarakom Lake, a major tourist destination of the country. Police in separate boats escorted the guests on the two-hour long ride. The majority of the Sherpas and delegates dressed up in traditional Kerala attire before getting on the houseboats. While women delegates wore frilled skirts with zari borders and shawls, men wore the traditional mundu (also known as veshti). They were helped by employees of the event management team. Many of the delegates also posed for photos with India's Sh

Govt turns optimistic on forging G-20 consensus on Russia-Ukraine war

India's top G-20 negotiator, Amitabh Kant, said that the group still isn't close to reaching a settlement over the language in a joint statement at the leaders meeting in September

G20 issues bigger than the Russia-Ukraine war, says Amitabh Kant

Kant said that India had presented its deliverables to G20, and negotiations had begun on the text of these deliverables

G20 nations need to push for growth amid debt crisis: Amitabh Kant

Kant said that governments can, at best, be facilitators and catalysts, and eventually, growth has to take place through production and productivity by the private sector

India should aim for 100% electric two-, three-wheelers by 2028: Kant

Former Niti chief dwells on need for first-loss guarantees and blended finance to boost private capital flow; calls for installing 5 mn fast chargers, urges battery swapping and PLIs for localised mfg

World needs new institutions to drive climate action, SDGs: Amitabh Kant

The world needs new institutions to drive climate action and sustainable development goals (SDGs) as organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank are not designed to address these challenges, India's G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Friday. Participating in a discussion on "India's G20 Presidency - Forging Actionable Agenda for Global South" at the Vivekananda International Foundation, Kant talked about the challenges as India holds the presidency of G20 -- an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). He said the challenges are "external" and referred to the Ukraine war and the prevailing situation in the West. "We have seen the war going on for one year, we don't know how it will shape up in the coming days. G20 is essentially a consensus building platform," he said. He said geopolitics in Europe is not improving as the Ukraine-Russia war has been going on for a year and is worsening. Kant said G20 is important a

Need for behavioural changes to ensure utilisation of resources: Kant

India's G-20 sherpa Amitabh Kant on Wednesday said there is an "urgency of bringing in behavioural changes" at individual and community levels to avoid "destructive consumption" and ensure "mindful utilisation of resources". "...we wish to highlight the urgency of bringing in behavioral change in both individual and community so that there is a paradigm shift from mindless and destructive consumption to mindful and deliberate utilisation of resources," Kant said. Speaking at the launch meeting of G20 energy transitions and climate finance taskforce organised by Gateway House virtually, Kant said the theme of reducing mindless consumption is also a G-20 priority. He said chasing the net zero goal is net positive for India, pointing out that the country's growth has the potential to catalyse global economic resurgence. "...any achievement by India will have a multiplier impact in the achievement of UN SDGs (United Nations Sustainable Development Goals). India's G-20 presidency is an

G20 an opportunity to shape agenda for sustainable growth: Amitabh Kant

India has taken over the G-20 presidency at a crucial time when the world is facing several challenges, including the Russia-Ukraine war, economic slowdown and the climate crisis, G-20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said on Wednesday, adding it is an opportunity for the country to shape the agenda for an inclusive and sustainable development. Speaking at an event at Hindu College here, Kant noted this is the first time that India is getting an opportunity to shape the agenda for the world instead of responding to the agenda set by other countries. Noting the importance of the G-20 forum, he said, "G-20 countries account for 85 per cent of the global GDP and 78 per cent of global trade.... They account for two-third population of the world." India assumed the yearlong presidency of G-20 on December 1. More than 200 meetings will be held in India across 55 locations. Many of them will be hosted in Delhi. The G-20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, ...

India calls on China to take losses on loans in poor-nation debt rework

China needs to come out openly and say what their debt is and how to settle it," said Amitabh Kant, the sherpa for India during its presidency of the Group of 20 forum of the world's biggest economies

India leapfrogged 40 yrs of development with DPI: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

With effective implementation of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) like Aadhaar, CoWin, many others, India leapfrogged 40 years of development and made progress in seven years which was expected to be achieved in 47 years, G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant said here on Tuesday. Kant was giving a keynote address in the first Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) meeting that witnessed active participation from G20 members, knowledge partners, and eight guest countries. "With effective implementation of DPI, India leapfrogged 40 years of development and made progress in 7 years which was expected to be achieved in 47 years. Any country can use the already developed DPIs and innovate on the top of the same," Kant said in a statement. Kant spoke at length about the successes of DPI in terms of inclusion, delivery of social services, preventing monopolisation in digital space, and security, privacy & governance. He shared the full suite of Indian DPIs, namely Aadhaar, CoWIN, DigiLocker, etc in .

Hydrogen mission to push India towards decarbonisation: Amitabh Kant

In an exclusive interview to ANI, Kant said India is making a very major energy transition and is the only country which was able to achieve its NDC targets nine years ahead of schedule

Developed world hasn't acted on 2009 climate pledge: G-20 Sherpa Kant

India will be seeking to restructure multilateral financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank which are out of sync with present-day challenges, a top official said on Monday. These Bretton Woods bodies were created after the World Bank, and are largely focused on the direct lending which was necessary in the post-second world war period, India's G-20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant, said. He said 15x more resources can be ploughed in to fight various developmental challenges like education and health and achieve sustainable development goals by using innovative financial instruments like blended finance, credit enhancement and first loss guarantees. So you will need a restructuring of the multilateral financial institutions over a long period of time. And that is critical for the world. I mean, a lot of these are things which are doable within this year's presidency, Kant said during an Asia Society event here late this evening. Earlier in the day, Kant had sai

India's G20 presidency will be decisive, inclusive, says Amitabh Kant

India's G20 presidency will be decisive, inclusive and outcome-oriented, said G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant at a press conference on Friday

India has lot to offer to world in time of crisis: G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant

"To my mind every crisis has a huge opportunity and G20 in the past has demonstrated the ability to deliver in times of adversity," he said

Great opportunity to look at sectors like green hydrogen: G20 Sherpa Kant

Kant further said that there will be a renewed push for green development and climate finance, with the concept of Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) woven in

Multilateral bodies need to be rejigged for more climate finance: Kant

India would focus on sustainable development at the ongoing G20 deliberations