G20 Summit 2023: ‘Bharat’ written on plaque in front of PM Modi

A plaque displaying the word ‘Bharat’ was visible in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he started his opening remarks at the G20 Summit 2023. The renaming of India to Bharat is expected to be done during the five-day Special Session of Parliament commencing on 18 September.

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— ANI (@ANI) September 9, 2023

After dinner invites by Droupadi Murmu for world leaders coming for the G20 Summit referred to her as the President of Bharat, reports emerged that the Narendra Modi-led government may bring a resolution during the five-day Special Session of Parliament that begins on 18 September to rename the country. However, the Centre has said that the buzz around name change is a mere rumour.

‘India, that is Bharat’ written in Article 1 of the Constitution is only descriptive and the two cannot be used interchangeably, constitutional expert P D T Achary said on Tuesday and underlined that any change in name from the Republic of India will require several amendments.