FM Sitharaman-Led Viksit Bharat Meeting Concludes With Financing Focus

The first Conference of State Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries of States and Union Territories with Legislatures, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, concluded on Saturday with discussions centred on financing India’s development priorities and its long-term journey towards Viksit Bharat.

The two-day conference, held under the theme ‘Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat’, brought together representatives from the Centre and states to deliberate on key financing and economic issues, the Finance Ministry said.

Discussions covered the macroeconomic outlook, financing agricultural transformation and supporting the country’s energy transition. Experts from academia, banking, industry and policymaking also shared their perspectives during the sessions.

Among those who addressed the conference were Dr Sajjid Z. Chinoy, Dr Samiran Chakraborty, Professor Ashima Goyal and Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala.

The Finance Ministry said the deliberations provided a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the economy while also identifying opportunities as India works towards its long-term development objectives.

The conference also underlined the importance of cooperation between the Centre and states, with the ministry describing the discussions as reflecting the spirit of ‘Team India’ and a shared approach towards achieving the Viksit Bharat vision.

On the first day, Anuradha Thakur, Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, said the first-of-its-kind conference adopted a broader and longer-term perspective by bringing together discussions on public and private financing.

She highlighted the participation of experts from academia, industry, banking and policymaking, while states presented their perspectives on financing development and emphasised the need for greater complementarities and multi-tiered partnerships between the Union and state governments.

N.K. Singh, President and Life Trustee of the Institute of Economic Growth and Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, delivered the keynote address, highlighting India’s macroeconomic foundations.

He also referred to India’s 7.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of FY 2026-27 and the recent upgrade of the country’s sovereign rating by Japan Credit Rating Agency from BBB+ to A-.

The conference comes amid growing efforts to align public policy and private-sector investment with the long-term Viksit Bharat 2047 vision.

An earlier report had noted that Indian companies were increasingly reflecting the Viksit Bharat 2047 agenda in their business strategies and disclosures, with aerospace and defence, automobiles and banking emerging among the sectors showing stronger alignment with the national development objectives.