New Delhi [India], June 16 (ANI): Amitabh Kant resigned as India's G20 Sherpa on Monday spoke about his 'New Journey' in which he said he is looking forward to 'contributing to India's transformational journey towards Viksit Bharat' by helping with supporting various startups, think tanks and academic institutions.

A retired 1980-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Kerala cadre, was appointed as India's G20 Sherpa in July 2022. Kant has represented India during its G20 presidency and hosted the annual summit in New Delhi in 2023.

'I am grateful to all my colleagues, peers and friends for their patience, understanding, and support. 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,' Kant's post on social media platform X read.

https://x.com/amitabhk87/status/1934466739456139545

A G20 Sherpa is a personal representative of a country in the annual G20 summit, and participates in the discussions and negotiations. Each country appoints their own Sherpas. The term comes from the sherpas of Nepal, who guide mountaineers in the Himalayas during expeditions.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving him the opportunity to work for India's development, Kant wrote, 'My New Journey. 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 underlined how a significant milestone for him was leading the country in the 2023 G20 summit, while India held the G20 presidency and organised the summit in New Delhi.

'Leading India's G20 Presidency in 2023 was a significant milestone in my career. Despite complex global challenges, we achieved unanimous consensus on the New Delhi Leaders' Declaration, and refocused attention on key developmental issues,' Kant said.

'India's G20 presidency was people-centric and inclusive, with meetings held across all states and union territories. This strengthened cooperative federalism, celebrated local culture, and upgraded infrastructure nationwide. We also successfully ensured the inclusion of the African Union in the G20, fulfilling India's commitment to global equity and the voice of the Global South,' he said.

Kant has also been the Secretary of the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion and the CEO of NITI Aayog.

Highlighting his tenure at NITI Aayog, Kant said, 'I had the privilege to lead path-breaking programs such as the Aspirational Districts Programme, which transformed lives of common citizens in 115 of India's most underdeveloped districts. We helped lay the foundations for India's digital public infrastructure and pushed policy reforms across sectors--ranging from manufacturing through PLI schemes to innovation through the Atal Innovation Mission and sustainability through the Green Hydrogen Mission and Advanced Chemistry Cells.'

As Secretary of Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion Kant said he focused on reform and liberalisation and drove key initiatives like Ease of Doing Business, Make in India, and Startup India, which he said helped India climb up 79 places in World Bank rankings.

Kant also thanked Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Principal Secretary to Prime Minister, PK Mishra for their guidance and support. (ANI)