When Amitabh Kant announced his decision to step down as India’s G20 Sherpa, it marked the close of a remarkable 45-year-long journey in public service. But it also opened a new chapter — one where experience meets enterprise, and policy meets public purpose.
Kant is no stranger to bold national projects or transformative campaigns. From spearheading “Incredible India” as a tourism brand to laying the policy foundations for “Make in India,” “Startup India,” and India’s digital public infrastructure, he has consistently pushed the Indian state to think big and act fast.
His departure is more than an administrative handover. It is the exit of one of India’s most future-facing bureaucrats, whose work will continue to ripple across institutions, startups, and strategies for years to come.
Sherpa at the Summit
Kant’s final role as India’s G20 Sherpa during the country’s landmark presidency in 2023 was, perhaps, his most globally visible. In a deeply fractured geopolitical climate, he helped deliver the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration — a rare consensus outcome that elevated development, climate finance, and digital inclusion to the heart of global discourse.
He also helped drive the historic inclusion of the African Union as a permanent member of the G20 — a move that aligned with India’s push to champion the voice of the Global South.
For a technocrat who has long believed in building bridges between local action and global thinking, the G20 presidency was not just a diplomatic win. It was a personal and professional culmination.
NITI Aayog: The Policy Engine Room
Before stepping into the multilateral arena, Kant spent over six years as the CEO of NITI Aayog — India’s apex policy think tank. Here, he catalyzed reforms in manufacturing, digital public goods, innovation ecosystems, and climate action.
He helped incubate the Atal Innovation Mission, pushed production-linked incentives, and guided the Green Hydrogen Mission — all with the long view of making India a resilient, innovation-driven economy.
Under his leadership, the Aspirational Districts Programme became a model for inclusive governance, blending data with delivery in some of the most underdeveloped parts of the country.
From economic vision to execution, his style remained consistent: pragmatic, collaborative, and unapologetically ambitious.
The Personal in the Professional
What stands out about Kant’s public career is his ability to humanize policy. In his farewell note, he recalled his early days in Kerala — supporting fishermen communities, expanding Calicut airport, and branding the state as “God’s Own Country.” It wasn’t bureaucracy as usual; it was governance with heart.
That same instinct carried through to the “Incredible India” campaign, born from his understanding of how storytelling can become a tool of both cultural pride and economic growth. He made the bureaucracy creative, and creativity systemic.
Now, as he turns to support startups, think tanks, and academic institutions in a personal capacity, there’s a quiet continuity at work. From within the system, and now from outside, Kant seems ready to shape India’s next transformation — this time by building bridges across sectors.
A New Role, Same Mission
India today stands at an inflection point. The road to “Viksit Bharat” — a fully developed India by 2047 — will require the kind of multi-sectoral coordination, big-picture thinking, and systems-level innovation that Kant specialized in.
That’s why his exit from government is unlikely to be the end of his influence. Whether it’s guiding entrepreneurs, shaping public discourse through think tanks, or influencing policy from the outside in, his second act could be just as impactful.
Amitabh Kant didn’t just serve the government; he reimagined its possibilities. And now, with the freedom of reinvention, he may just do it again — this time without a title, but still with purpose.
