Centre, states to deliberate on financing ‘Viksit Bharat’ at two-day Delhi conference. J&K to attend

Finance Ministers, Secretaries to discuss GST, agriculture, energy transition and private financing

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 17: The Ministry of Finance will convene Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries of States and Union Territories with Legislature, including Jammu & Kashmir, on September 18 and 19 in New Delhi to deliberate on financing India’s development journey towards ‘Viksit Bharat’.

The two-day conference, titled “Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat”, will focus on policy complementarities between the Centre and States and bring together academic research and practical policymaking to examine financing challenges and development priorities.

The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs will participate in the conference, which is also expected to be attended by several Chief Ministers, Finance Ministers and senior State officials.

Three thematic sessions

The conference will feature three thematic sessions covering:

• Macroeconomic overview

• Financing agricultural transformation

• Financing the energy transition

The discussions will be supported by background papers circulated among participants on a range of financing and policy issues.

These include macroeconomic milestones and pathways towards Viksit Bharat, private financing, implications of GST 2.0 for States, financing agricultural markets and marketing, resilience and sustainable resource use in Indian agriculture, renewable energy and transmission assets, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

Keynote by former Finance Commission chairman

Anuradha Thakur, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, will outline the objectives of the conference during the inaugural session.

N.K. Singh, President and Life Trustee of the Institute of Economic Growth and Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, will deliver the keynote address.

Sudhir Shrivastava, former Additional Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary, Government of Maharashtra, will present the State perspective on financing the Viksit Bharat agenda.

Focus on measuring growth and technology

Dr Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, will highlight the importance of measuring growth outcomes in India’s development journey.

S. Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, will discuss the role of new-age technology in strengthening good governance.

The conference is intended to facilitate Centre-State discussions on financing requirements and policy priorities across major areas of India’s development agenda.