When India assumed the G20 presidency in December 2022, few predicted the degree to which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government would use the platform to reframe multilateral conversations. Over the following twelve months, New Delhi hosted more than 200 meetings across 60 cities, turning the rotating chairmanship into a nationwide showcase.

The most consequential outcome was the African Union's admission as a permanent G20 member — a diplomatic coup that New Delhi had lobbied for since the very first sherpa meeting. "This is India's gift to the world," External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said at the New Delhi Summit in September 2023.

Economists note that the presidency also accelerated work on a framework for sovereign-debt restructuring, a long-standing demand of lower-income nations struggling with post-pandemic fiscal stress. Whether the framework will translate into binding commitments remains an open question, but the groundwork has been laid.