The 5th Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2026) is set to convene in New Delhi from 3 to 5 October 2026 under the theme 'Resilience in an Age of Flux', the Finance Ministry announced on Thursday, 1 October. The three-day gathering will bring together top policymakers, economists, academics, financial experts, and international thought leaders, with over 80 international participants from approximately 30 countries in attendance.

Inaugural Session and Opening Plenary

Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan will deliver the inaugural address. The opening session is designed to examine how economic policy can simultaneously build resilience and preserve growth, openness, and institutional credibility in a global environment defined by recurrent shocks and deepening uncertainty.

The opening plenary, titled 'A World Priced for Risk', will be chaired by Lord Nicholas Stern. P. K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, will deliver the keynote address at this session, with Professor Michael Greenstone of the University of Chicago serving as discussant. The session will probe how energy shocks, supply-chain fractures, and the weaponisation of trade and economic access are complicating macroeconomic management and long-term investment planning.

Key Plenaries and High-Profile Speakers

A special plenary on 'Resilience in an Age of Flux: India's Economic Priorities' will focus on sustaining growth, preserving macroeconomic stability, and expanding investment amid global fragmentation and technological disruption. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will deliver the special address, with Amelie de Montchalin, President of the Cour des Comptes and former Minister of Public Action and Accounts of France, as discussant.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra will deliver the special address at the plenary session 'Central Banking in an Age of Flux', reflecting the conclave's focus on the role of monetary institutions in navigating a more volatile global environment.

Communications Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia will keynote the plenary 'From Connectivity to AI: The New Architecture of the Digital Economy', examining how digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and next-generation communications networks can raise productivity while preserving competition and trust.

Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will deliver the keynote address on 'Culture as Capital: From Heritage to Horizons' on the penultimate day of the conclave.

Concluding Session and Foreign Policy Dimension

The concluding session, 'India and the World: Adaptive by Design', will be moderated by N. K. Singh, President of the Board of Trustees at the Institute of Economic Growth. External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar will deliver the special concluding address, with former Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo as discussant. The session will assess how India can preserve strategic autonomy, widen partnerships, and respond flexibly to an increasingly contested global order.

Agenda: Domestic and Global Economic Issues

The KEC 2026 agenda spans a broad range of structural themes including fiscal federalism, industrial policy, capital-market development, regulatory oversight, development finance, and the mobilisation of domestic and foreign capital for long-term investment. Sessions will also examine Centre-State fiscal relations and the conditions required to deepen India's capital markets and channel savings into productive risk capital.

This is the fifth edition of the conclave, which has established itself as one of India's premier forums for high-level economic dialogue. With geopolitical fragmentation intensifying and the global economy navigating simultaneous shocks, the 2026 edition arrives at a particularly consequential moment for Indian policymakers.