Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, 19 September 2026, chaired the concluding session of the first-ever Conference of State Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries of States and Union Territories with the Legislature in New Delhi, with discussions centred squarely on financing India's path to becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047. The two-day conference, organised by the Finance Ministry, brought together representatives from the Centre and states to deliberate on key development financing priorities.

What the Conference Covered

Held under the theme 'Financing India's Journey towards Viksit Bharat', the sessions spanned a broad range of interconnected issues: the macroeconomic outlook, financing agricultural transformation, and driving the energy transition. The deliberations drew on expert insights from economists and policymakers including Dr Sajjid Z. Chinoy, Dr Samiran Chakraborty, Professor Ashima Goyal, and Dr Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, among others.

Key Takeaways from Day One

Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), underscored the novel character of the conference on its opening day, noting that it adopted a longer-term and broader canvas — assembling voices from academia, industry, banking, and policymaking under one roof. States, she indicated, shared perspectives emphasising that the Viksit Bharat journey rests on deep complementarities and a multi-tiered partnership between the Union and the states.

N.K. Singh, President and Life Trustee of the Institute of Economic Growth and former Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, delivered the keynote address. Singh highlighted India's strong macroeconomic foundation, pointing to 7.8 per cent GDP growth in Q1 of FY 2026–27 and a recent credit rating upgrade by the Japan Credit Rating Agency from BBB+ to A– as evidence of improving sovereign credibility.

The 'Team India' Spirit

The Finance Ministry described the conference as a reflection of the 'Team India' ethos — an acknowledgment that achieving Viksit Bharat demands coordinated fiscal action across all tiers of government, not just Union-level policy. According to the ministry, the deliberations provided a deeper understanding of the financing challenges ahead while highlighting the opportunities available on India's development path. This comes amid growing momentum: a report released earlier in September indicated that India Inc is increasingly aligning its business strategies and disclosures with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision, with aerospace and defence, automobiles, and banking emerging as the sectors most actively integrating the national development agenda into corporate planning.

Why This Conference Matters

This first-of-its-kind conclave signals a structural shift in how India approaches development finance — moving from siloed Union-level announcements to a collaborative, bottom-up planning architecture that formally incorporates state governments in long-horizon fiscal strategy. Notably, the conference's focus on private finance alongside public expenditure suggests an acknowledgment that government balance sheets alone cannot fund the infrastructure, agriculture, and energy investments required for a developed-nation transition by 2047. All eyes will now be on the follow-up action framework that emerges from these deliberations, and on whether states translate the conference's recommendations into their own budget cycles.