The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday took stock of the arrangements being made for the G20 Summit to be held in New Delhi next month.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P K Mishra chaired a meeting to review logistical, protocol, security and media-related arrangements. The meeting was attended by senior officers from the G20 Secretariat and Ministries of External Affairs, Home, Culture, Information and Broadcasting and the Department of Telecom.
It was noted that work on the ground and on the site at ‘Bharat Mandapam’ was proceeding satisfactorily. For a uniquely Indian experience, exhibitions on culture and ‘Mother of Democracy’ is being set up in ‘Bharat Mandapam’.
Mishra also reviewed progress in the installation of the Nataraj statue at the venue and programme for spouses of visiting leaders which has been specially curated for the guests.
For the first time, a mobile App has been made for G20, called ‘G20 India’ which is now available for download, both on Android and iOS. G20 delegates and members of the media will also witness digital India firsthand through the ‘Innovation Hub’ and ‘Digital India Experiential Hub’ which are being set up at Bharat Mandapam.
On the logistics side, drills are being held and dress rehearsals are planned in the coming days. The top PMO official was also briefed on security aspects by the officers concerned. A traffic advisory has been issued for the public.
Mr Mishra emphasised that though for security and protocol reasons, restrictions are being placed, efforts should be made so that least inconvenience is caused to the public. He directed that essential services in the city should not be affected. Further, communications regarding traffic restrictions should be made more user-friendly.
Media arrangements for the summit were also reviewed. So far, more than 3600 requests have been received including from foreign media and accreditation letters are being issued. The Media Centre at the ‘Bharat Mandapam’ will be fully ready by the end of this week.
Mishra directed all concerned officers and heads of organisations to make every effort to host an impeccable Summit. For smooth coordination between various agencies, it was decided that a Multi-Agency Control Room would be set up at ‘Bharat Mandapam’.
Mr Mishra will undertake field and site visits over the next few days to check the state of readiness on the ground.