Finance Ministers, senior officials and experts deliberate on public and private financing, fiscal sustainability, agriculture, energy transition and new-age technology
New Delhi: A two-day conference on “Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat” concluded in New Delhi with detailed discussions on the country’s long-term financing requirements and strategies for achieving sustained, inclusive and broad-based economic growth.
The conference brought together the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Chief Ministers, Deputy Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers from several States and Union Territories with Legislature, along with senior officials, economists, industry representatives, bankers and policymakers.
Focus on Public and Private Financing
Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Smt. Anuradha Thakur, highlighted the broader and long-term approach adopted by the conference. She emphasised the importance of combining public and private finance, while strengthening cooperation between the Union and State Governments.
She noted that India’s macroeconomic stability and fiscal prudence have received international recognition, including recent sovereign rating upgrades. The conference also underlined that the scale of transformation required for Viksit Bharat cannot be achieved through government budgets alone. Private-sector investment, innovative financing mechanisms and stronger Centre-State cooperation will therefore be important.
N.K. Singh Calls for Higher Savings and Stronger Fiscal Transparency
In his keynote address, Shri N.K. Singh, President and Life Trustee of the Institute of Economic Growth and Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, highlighted India’s strong macroeconomic foundation, including 7.8 per cent GDP growth in Q1 of FY 2026–27.
He said India’s gross domestic savings rate, currently around 34 per cent of GDP, would need to increase towards 38–40 per cent to sustain the 7–8 per cent growth required for Viksit Bharat.
Shri Singh also called for State-wise debt sustainability assessments and greater fiscal transparency, including accounting for off-budget borrowings, guarantees and arrears. He advocated greater use of AI and machine learning along with tax databases to identify compliance gaps and strengthen revenue mobilisation.
He further stressed the need to move from predominantly public finance towards private capital, supported by predictable regulations, enforceable contracts, faster dispute resolution and stronger investment frameworks.
Macroeconomics, Agriculture and Energy Transition
The thematic sessions covered key sectors linked to India’s long-term development.
The first session focused on “Macroeconomic Overview”, with discussions on enhancing savings and investment, fiscal rules at the State level and strengthening public finances.
The second day began with a session on “Financing Agriculture Sector Transformation”, covering market access, agricultural finance, post-harvest marketing, logistics, infrastructure, food processing and financial instruments that could support agricultural transformation.
Another major session examined “Financing the Energy Transition”, including financing for renewable energy and transmission assets, battery energy storage systems, pumped storage projects and carbon capture, utilisation and storage. The session also discussed the development of a carbon-credit framework aligned with India’s NDC targets.
New-Age Technology and Measuring the Viksit Bharat Journey
Special sessions explored emerging dimensions of India’s development strategy.
Dr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, discussed “Measuring India’s Viksit Bharat Journey: A Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) Perspective.”
Shri S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, addressed the “Role of New-Age Technology in India’s Journey Towards Viksit Bharat.”
CEA Highlights Role of States and Private Capital
During the concluding session, Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran, Chief Economic Adviser, Government of India, said the conference provided an opportunity for the Union and States to move beyond discussions on resource generation and sharing and focus collectively on financing India’s development over the next two decades.
He emphasised that while India’s savings base remains substantial and needs to grow further, greater participation by private capital will be essential to meet the investment requirements of Viksit Bharat.
Dr. Nageswaran identified three priorities for States: creating an enabling environment for private investment through land, power, logistics and single-window clearances; developing strong project-preparation pipelines to attract domestic and multilateral finance; and strengthening State-level capital expenditure despite fiscal constraints.
Emphasising that “Viksit Bharat depends on Viksit Rajya,” Dr. Nageswaran called for the recommendations and best practices discussed during the conference to be converted into partnerships with clearly defined responsibilities and timelines.
The concluding session also featured Shri Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, Chairman, State Bank of India, who addressed the role and sources of finance from the banking sector.
The conference thus brought the Union and States together on a common platform to examine how public resources, private investment, financial innovation and sector-specific financing can support India’s development journey towards 2047.