G20 Dinner: What's on the menu, who will perform at concert? A complete guide

As India’s G20 Summit proceeds in full swing, the guest list for President Droupadi Murmu’s special dinner, which was held on Friday evening at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, was unveiled.

There are over 170 distinguished guests in total at this exclusive supper, including not only foreign heads of state but also chief ministers of all Indian states, cabinet and state ministers, central government secretaries and other notable guests.

The event’s host, President Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former President Ram Nath Kovind, and former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will join the dinner party, according to ANI.

According to Mukesh Pardeshi, a special secretary of the G-20 and the summit’s head of operations and logistics, a brief cultural event would also be held in conjunction with the gala dinner, as reported by NDTV.

The special dinner, hosted under the theme “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - One Earth, One Family, One Future,” is planned to serve as a forum for a diverse group of attendees to exchange ideas and build connections.

Here’s a full list of leaders who are going to attend the dinner and who are going to skip it. And a look at the G20 concert and dinner menu.

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Guests on the list

The list of cabinet ministers who are going to attend the event includes Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Nirmala Sitharaman, Narendra Singh Tomar, S Jaishankar, Arjun Munda, Smriti Irani, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Pralhad Joshi.

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Union ministers who have been invited to dinner include Narayan Rane, Sarbananda Sonowal, Virendra Kumar, Giriraj Singh, Jyotiraditya Nath Sindhiya, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pashupati Kumar Paras, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Kiran Rijiju, Rajkumar Singh, Hardeep Singh Puri, Mansukh Mandaviya, Bhupendra Yadav, Mahendra Nath Pandey, Purushotam Rupala, G Kishan Reddy, and Anurag Thakur.

Minister of state who are invited for the dinner are Rao Indrajeet Singh, Jitendra Singh, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Shripad Yasho Naik, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Prahlad Singh Patel, Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, Vijay Kumar Singh, Krishna Pal Gurjar, Rao Sahab Patil, Ramdas Athavale, Sadhvi Niranjana Jyoti, Sanjiv Kumar Baliyan, Nityanand Rai, Pankaj Chaudhari, Anupriya Patel SP Singh Baghel, Rajiv Chandrashekhar, Shobha Karandalaje, Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, Darshana Jardosh, V. Muraleedharan, Meenakshi Lekhi, Som Prakash, Renuka Singh, Rameswar Teli, Kailash Chaudhary, Annpurna Devi, A Narayan Swami, Kaushal Kishor, Ajay Bhatt, BL Verma, Ajay Kumar Mishra, Debu Singh Chauhan, Bhagwat Khuba, Kapil Moreshwar Patil, Pratima Bhaumik, Subhash Sarkar, Bhagwat Krishna Rao Karad, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, Bhartiya Pravin Pawar, Visheshwar Tudu, Sukant Thakur, Mahendra Bhai, John Barla, Dr Ilmurugan, Nisith Pramanik.

CAG of India Girish Chandra Murmu, Lok Sabha Speaker, OM Birla, NSA Ajit Doval, Delhi LG VK Saxena, G20 Sharepa Amitabh Kant, and other important officials and distinguished guests will join the dinner.

The names of chief ministers who have been invited for the dinner include Chief Minister Andhra Pradesh YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, Chief Minister Arunachal Pradesh Pema Khandu, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Goa CM Pramod Sawant, Gujarat CM Bhupendra Patel, Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Manipur CM N. Biren Singh, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Mizoram CM Zoramthanga, Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, Puducherry CM Rangaswami, Punjab CM Bhagwan Singh Mann, Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot Sikkim CM PS Golai, Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin, Telangana CM K Chandrashekar Rao, Tripura CM Manik Shah, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Uttrakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

Also read: Will the G20 be renamed G21 with the inclusion of African Union?

Non-invitees and absentees

Former Prime Ministers Dr Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda have also been invited to the special occasion, however, both of them won’t be able to attend the G20 dinner.

Dr Singh didn’t cite any reason for his absence but in an interview with The Indian Express ahead of the mega event, he said he was glad to witness India’s presidency of the G20 Summit at a time when foreign policy has become far more important today than ever.

Deve Gowda on Friday informed that he won’t be present at the gala dinner due to health reasons. Taking to X (previously Twitter), the Janata Dal (Secular) president wrote, “I have already communicated this to the government. I wish the G20 summit a grand success.”

I will not be attending the G20 dinner organised by the Hon. President of India Draupadi Murmuji, on 09 September 2023, due to health reasons. I have already communicated this to the government. I wish the G20 summit a grand success. @PMOIndia @rashtrapatibhvn

— H D Devegowda (@H_D_Devegowda) September 8, 2023

Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik will skip the dinner, according to Telangana Today.

Chief Ministers of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Karnataka, which are governed by the Congress, are unlikely to attend. There was no confirmation of Bhupesh Baghel, the chief minister of Chhattisgarh, and Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister of Rajasthan, attending the event.

According to details obtained by The Hindu, Gehlot is still recovering from toe fractures and has restricted travel, and Baghel has also stated that he is not yet healthy enough to go to the capital. Similar reasons have also been cited by Siddaramaiah.

Telangana CM K Chandrashekhar Rao has also not stated a reason, but The Hindu sources in his office claim that it is doubtful that Rao will go to Delhi. Andhra Pradesh CM Jagan Mohan Reddy will skip the dinner as he will be returning from London on 12 September. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan will also remain absent from the event.

Leaders from political parties have, however, not been invited.

According to PTI, Congress chief and the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, who holds a cabinet minister rank, has not been invited to the G20 dinner. When asked about the development, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi told reporters in Brussels, “They have decided not to invite the Leader of the Opposition, it tells you something. It tells you that they don’t value the leader of 60 per cent of India’s population. And it’s something that people should think about. Why do they feel the need to do that and what is the type of thinking that goes behind that.”

G20 with Firstpost: Our complete coverage here

Three-hour special concert for leaders

Bharat Vadya Darshanam (Musical Journey of India), a concert that would highlight the depth of the nation’s culture, will be a first-of-its-kind combination of numerous musical genres, according to the Ministry of Culture. The Sangeet Natak Akademi is in charge of organising it.

Up to 78 instrumentalists from throughout the nation, including 11 children, 13 women, and seven artists with disabilities, will be a part of the ensemble, according to the officials. Hindustani, Carnatic, and folk instruments will all be used.

After the day’s discussions are concluded, the group will play the Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam song, which means that “the world is one family,” as the leaders of the state work on the final draft of the joint communiqué.

Sandhya Purecha, SNA Chairman, said the programme will begin with compositions in Vilambit Laya (slow tempo), followed by Madhya Laya (medium fast tempo), and conclude with a few scores in Druta Laya (Fast tempo). The concluding section also has a devotional aspect with bhajans like Sriram Chandra Kripalu, Vaishnav Jan To, etc, according to Indian Express.

The special dinner will also witness a performance showcasing ancient musical instruments like ‘Ravanahatha’ to ‘Rudra Veena’, as well as the tabla and piano being played, as per ANI.

“We have the legacy of Hindustani and Carnatic music. Specially abled artists will also perform at the dinner hosted by President Murmu. This would be a very proud moment for all of us,” Lekhi said.

Also read: G20 Summit: How much money was spent on Delhi?

Millets on the menu

ITC Hotels is providing catering for the two-day summit, according to Times of India report.

As per PTI, the tableware has a base of steel or brass or a mix of both with silver plating, while some plates are used to serve welcome drinks.

The menu is said to be millets-heavy. It begins with an introduction to how India, with all its diversity, is connected by ‘taste’. “A medley of traditions, customs and climate, Bharat is diverse in many ways, Taste connects us,” the menu read, according to a report by India Today.

PHOTOS | Menu of the G20 special dinner being hosted by President Droupadi Murmu at Bharat Mandapam.#G20India2023 #G20SummitDelhi #G20India pic.twitter.com/gBrWoolJ2D

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 9, 2023

The starters include Paatram, foxtail millet leaf crisps topped with a yoghurt sphere and spiced chutney. In the main course, Vanavarnam, jackfruit galette is served with glazed forest mushrooms, Little millet crisp and curry leaf-tossed Kerala red rice. It is accompanied by two varieties of Indian bread: Mumbai Pao (onion seed-flavoured soft bun) and bakarkhani (cardamom-flavoured sweet flatbread).

The dessert menu includes Madhurima ‘Pot of gold’, cardamom-scented Barnyard millet pudding, fig-peach compote and Ambemohar rice crisps. Kashmiri Kahwa, filter coffee and Darjeeling tea are being offered. Paan-flavoured chocolate leaves are on the menu.

A lavish vegetarian lunch was also served to the world’s leaders. The menu included kurkuri bhindi, tandoori aloo, zafrani gucchi pulao, and paneer tilwala.

With inputs from agencies