[14] G20 India has put forth six agenda priorities for the G20 dialogue in 2023:[15] In an interview on 26 August 2023, Prime Minister Modi expressed optimism about the G20 countries' evolving agenda under India's presidency, shifting toward a human-centric development approach that aligns with the concerns of the Global South, including addressing climate change, debt restructuring through the G20's Common Framework for Debt, and a strategy for regulation of global cryptocurrencies.

[19] In the lead up to the G20 meeting, the Indian authorities, including the Archaeological Survey of India embarked on a mass demolition drive against homeless shelters and slum neighborhoods across New Delhi resulting in the eviction of its marginalized residents.

[25][26] In the days prior to the summit, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) placed life-size cutouts of langurs in several parts of the city to scare away the smaller rhesus macaque monkeys.

[31] In the shutdown imposed on the 32 million people living in Delhi, all schools, offices, workplaces, marketplaces, restaurants and non-food shops were ordered to close for three days.

[35][36] Their places were taken up by Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese premier Li Qiang, respectively.