On Monday, top officials from the world's 20 largest economies convened in Udaipur to discuss the agenda for India's G20 presidency, with the first session focusing on technological transformation.

The G20 Sherpas, or personal representatives of the heads of state and government, as well as top officials of multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank, will meet twice at the Taj Fateh Prakash Hotel on the banks of Lake Pichola.

On Monday, the first round of discussions will focus on technological transformation in the digital economy, health, and education, while the second will focus on green development and India's Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE) initiative.

“These deliberations will set the agenda for India’s G20 presidency. India’s G20 Sherpa will brief his counterparts from the other countries about India’s expectations and get the ball rolling for the hundreds of upcoming meetings,” an official said on condition of anonymity.

On Tuesday, there will be three more sessions on accelerated, inclusive, and resilient growth, multilateralism and food, fuel and fertilizers, and women-led development, tourism, and culture.

Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa, will lead the discussions, and all G20 Sherpas, representatives from multilateral organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank, as well as officials from nine guest countries invited by New Delhi, will take part.

The deliberations began as a Group of Seven (G7) price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into force on Monday as part of efforts by Western powers to limit Russia’s ability to finance its war in Ukraine.

With the divisions created by the Ukraine crisis hovering over the G20, the Indian side has said it will focus on ensuring inclusive growth during the over-arching deliberations on the course to be taken by the G20 in the coming year.

Kant highlighted the world community's challenges on Sunday, including a massive geopolitical crisis in Europe, the breakdown of global supply chains, 70 countries affected by global debt, and the pressing issue of climate action and climate finance.

He said that they were compounded by issues such as literacy, health, large segments of the population falling below the poverty line as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, and a slowdown of global growth.

“At this moment of crisis, India is taking over the presidency of the G20. Our belief is that every crisis is a huge opportunity and leadership is about finding path-breaking solutions in the midst of crisis,” he said.

The Sherpas have the onerous responsibility “to look beyond the immediate crises and shape a new future”, as well as reach consensus on a vast range of challenging issues during their deliberations over the next two days, Kant said.