The Union Finance Ministry convened a two-day conference of state Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries in New Delhi on 18 and 19 September to discuss how India’s development journey towards Viksit Bharat should be financed.

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• The Ministry of Finance organised a Conference of Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries of States and Union Territories with Legislature, titled “Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat,” on 18 and 19 September 2026 in New Delhi.
• Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attended the inaugural session, which was also joined by several chief ministers and state finance ministers.
• Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah were among the chief ministers who participated.
• The conference was described by the Finance Ministry as the first such gathering focused specifically on financing pathways for India’s long-term development agenda.
• Anuradha Thakur, Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, outlined the conference’s objectives at the inaugural session.
• N K Singh, Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission and President of the Institute of Economic Growth, delivered the keynote address.
• The two-day agenda featured three thematic sessions covering macroeconomic developments, financing agricultural transformation and financing the energy transition.
• Background papers circulated to participants covered topics including the implications of GST 2.0 for states, private financing for Viksit Bharat, and financing carbon capture, utilisation and storage.
• Saurabh Garg, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, addressed the importance of measuring growth outcomes on the path to Viksit Bharat.
• The conference aimed to identify policy complementarities between the Centre and states by combining academic research with practical policymaking on development financing.
• Centre-state fiscal relations discussed at such forums are anchored in Articles 268 to 281 of the Constitution, with the Finance Commission constituted under Article 280 and the GST Council under Article 279A.