The second Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting within India’s G20 Presidency started in Wednesday in Bengaluru.

Honorable Union Minister Anurag Thakur inaugurated and addressed the inaugural session of the meeting.

"The theme of G20 reflects the importance that India places on collaborative efforts to address global challenges. Since its inception, the G20 has proven its metal in forging consensus in times of crisis," Thakur said in his address.

The First G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies Meeting, under the Indian Presidency, too was held in Bengaluru during December 13-14, 2022.

The deputies' meet will be followed by the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, scheduled to be held during February 24-25 in the same city. The meeting will be jointly chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das.

The meeting will be spread over three sessions, covering issues such as strengthening multilateral development banks to address shared global challenges of the 21st century, financing for resilient, inclusive, and sustainable 'cities of tomorrow', leveraging Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains, an official release said earlier. 

The sessions will also cover issues related to the global economy, global health, and international taxation, and discussions in the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting are intended to provide a clear mandate for the various workstreams of the G20 Finance Track in 2023. 

Also, a number of side events have been planned for the visiting delegates, on subjects such as Digital Public Infrastructure, Policy Perspectives on Crypto Assets, and the role of National Payment Systems in Cross Border Payments on the side-lines of the main meeting.