G20 FMs, central bank chiefs meet on February 24 in Bengaluru | What’s on the agenda

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das will jointly chair the first G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting under India's Presidency on February 24 and 25 in Bengaluru.

It will be preceded by a meeting of G20 finance and central bank deputies, which will be co-chaired by the Economic Affairs Secretary Ajay Seth and RBI DG Michael Patra.

The meeting is also going to see the participation of finance ministers and central bank governors of G20 members, as well as heads of several international organisations. So, in total, there will be 72 delegations and 500 foreign delegates that are expected to attend.

During the meeting, several issues will be taken up, such as strengthening multilateral development bank's to address shared global challenges, financing for resilient, inclusive and sustainable cities of tomorrow, leveraging digital public infrastructure and so on. They will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation as well.

On the sidelines of these meetings, there will be events related to digital public infrastructure, policy perspectives, and crypto assets, and the role of national payment systems in cross-border payments as well. The finance minister will also hold bilateral discussions with more than 10 countries. Sitharaman met with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Giancarlo Giorgetti on Thursday.

Besides, some special dinners, cultural programs and excursions are planned for the delegates attending the event.

There will be a special Walk the Talk policy and action event during which the ministers and governors are going to visit the Indian Institute of Science to engage with tech innovators and entrepreneurs that are working on affordable solutions, some of the challenges being faced by G20 member countries.