Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), on Tuesday, 20 October 2026, declared that India stands as a compelling model of macroeconomic resilience, citing its credible fiscal trajectory and anchored inflation expectations as key buffers against a turbulent global backdrop. Her remarks came during a special address on 'Financial Stability' at RBI SAMVAD 2026, the central bank's flagship international seminar for central banks, being held in New Delhi.

'India faces the present challenging global scenario from a position of macroeconomic stability,' Thakur said, underscoring that the country's flexible inflation targeting framework has been instrumental in keeping inflationary expectations in check.

RBI Deputy Governor Sets the Stage

RBI Deputy Governor Poonam Gupta, setting the context for the panel discussion, noted that financial stability has evolved into a standalone policy objective — no longer a byproduct of monetary management. She pointed out that the policy lens has broadened from monitoring individual institutions to scrutinising the financial system as a whole, encompassing not just banks but also non-bank financial intermediaries.

Global Experts Sound Alerts on Emerging Risks

A high-profile panel featuring Ajay Seth, Chairman of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI); Yangchen Tshogyel, Governor of the Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan; Athanasios Vamvakidis of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); and Paul Jackson of Invesco converged on a sobering message: financial crises are arriving faster and hitting harder than before.

The panellists cautioned that lessons from past episodes of financial reengineering must not be discarded even as innovation is encouraged. They flagged a cluster of systemic risks demanding urgent attention — including the accelerating impacts of climate change, the expanding role of non-bank financial intermediaries and fintech platforms, and the growing fragmentation of global geopolitics. Notably, they also raised concerns about gaps in cross-border data sharing and the risks introduced by the increasing deployment of AI agents in financial services.

The panellists stressed that resilience must be built not merely within bank balance sheets, but across corporate and household balance sheets as well — a broader conception of financial stability than has traditionally guided policymaking.

About RBI SAMVAD 2026

SAMVAD 2026 was inaugurated on Monday, 19 October by RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra, who delivered the welcome address. Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman delivered the keynote address. The two-day event brings together central bank governors, senior policymakers, representatives from international organisations, and subject-matter experts from across the world to examine emerging challenges and opportunities facing the global financial system.

Why This Moment Matters

The timing of SAMVAD 2026 is significant. Global central banks are navigating a rare combination of sticky inflation, elevated public debt, and geopolitical fragmentation — conditions that stress-test even the most robust financial architectures. India's positioning as a stable anchor in this environment is as much a diplomatic signal as an economic assessment. The emphasis on non-bank risks and AI-driven vulnerabilities signals that the next frontier of financial regulation is already taking shape.