Former NTI Aayog Chief India's New Sherpa for G-20

New Delhi: Former NITI Aayog chief Amitabh Kant has been appointed G-20 Sherpa for the crucial year of presidency. He succeeds commerce minister Piyush Goel, who was handling the job.

Here are the key reasons why a full-time Sherpa has been appointed:

With India having to handle the G-20 presidency this year, the Sherpa would need to devote a lot of time to the numerous meetings that will be held in different parts of the country.
The "Sherpa" is a personal representatives of the member countries. The role they play, in terms of importance, is named after people guide adventurers to Himalayan peaks.
Sherpas are responsible for the planning, negotiation and implementation tasks through the Summit and conduct the oversees negotiations.
After being appointed the G20 Sherpa in 2021, Piyush Goyal has been tasked with other duties including that of the Leader of Rajya Sabha.
This, combined with the workload in ministries like Commerce and Industry, CAFPD (Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution ) and Textiles, would limit his involvement.
The possibility of foreign travel – needed as a Sherpa -- gets curtailed during Parliament sessions, which makes the job difficult to sustain.
The government does not wish to divert his attention from core areas -- LED and green energy revolution, power for all, coal production hike, record exports and FDI and allied areas.
Many initiatives led by the minister such as Free Trade Agreement negotiations with UK and EU -- expected to be game changers for India's labour-intensive sectors such as textiles, leather, gems and jewellery -- will require his attention. The FTA with the UK is at an advanced stage of negotiation.
The minister's involvement is also needed in the World Trade Oragnisation, where the country is trying to protect the interests of its small fishermen and farmers. There are concerns that some nations would try to push India to compromise on these key areas.
The Sherpas are usually career diplomats or senior government officials. The list of India's Sherpas for G20 Summit included Arvind Panagariya, Suresh Prabhu and Montek Singh Ahluwalia.