On April 23, the Center for Emerging Markets (CEM) at Northeastern University welcomed Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa and Former CEO of the National Institution for Transforming India (Niti Aayog), and Sharad Sharma, Co-Founder of the iSPIRT Foundation, for a fireside chat to discuss India's rise as a global economic and political leader.
Speaking to an audience of over 100 students, faculty, and members of the business community, the two guests started the conversation by examining how India used the opportunity to host the 2023 G20 summit in New Delhi to assert its growing presence on the world stage. They discussed how the nation was able to achieve remarkable consensus on nearly all topics brought up in the summit, including difficult issues such as energy transition and climate action.
Looking at India's recent history, Kant and Sharma reflected on how India has been able to accelerate its pace of sustainable and inclusive growth in the post-COVID era to arrive at an action plan on sustainable development goals that pushes the pace of climate action and climate finance. They described the nation's ambitious agenda for tech transformation and digital public infrastructure, which has catalyzed radical change across the global south.
Before taking questions from the audience, Kant and Sharma took a few moments to examine how India's unique partnership models between private innovators and government regulators have heralded a new era of digital innovation. They posited that these collaborative approaches could also hold valuable lessons for the global north and emphasized a continued need for a strong political leadership across India's states for continued success.
The conversation closed with some questions from the audience focused on India's use of AI, data, and governance for the future.
This event was part of the Vivek and Vandana Sharma India Initiative at the Center for Emerging Markets.
