2 hrs ago
States and Centre Debate Financing India’s Viksit Bharat Ambitions
India held a meeting with state finance ministers and officials about making the country more developed.
They discussed farming, exports, energy and building infrastructure.
One example showed that Meghalaya grows flowers but can lose orders because deliveries are less predictable than those from Vietnam.
Another example showed that Japan earns more from sesame oil by processing seeds, even though it imports many seeds.
The participants said India could earn more by making specialized products and improving quality.
They also discussed how better farming and food factories could create more jobs in villages.
Some states said switching to renewable energy would require more money and could affect electricity prices.
The meeting concluded that private investors and stronger financial planning will be important for achieving the Viksit Bharat goal.
A two-day Finance Ministry conference examined agricultural transformation, energy transition, exports and state financing needs.
Speakers cited Meghalaya’s flower-delivery problems and Japan’s value-added sesame oil exports as examples of supply-chain and processing gaps.
States discussed renewable-energy costs, industrial electricity tariffs, logistics, segmented landholdings and state-specific data collection.
Officials highlighted opportunities to raise farmer incomes and create jobs through food processing, packaging, grading and transport.
Experts said private capital, higher savings, fiscal transparency and state-level debt assessments are needed to support 7-8% growth.
- Who
- The Union Ministry of Finance, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, state finance ministers and finance secretaries, economists and industry and academic experts.
- What
- A two-day conference discussed financing India’s development through agricultural transformation, export growth, energy transition, infrastructure investment and fiscal reforms.
- Where
- Delhi.
- When
- Over two days, including sessions held on Friday; no calendar dates were specified.
- Why
- To identify financing needs and practical recommendations for India’s Viksit Bharat development goal over the next two decades.
Key facts
- Conference theme
- Financing India’s Journey towards Viksit Bharat
- Organizer
- Union Ministry of Finance
- Main focus areas
- Agriculture, exports, energy transition, logistics and infrastructure financing
- Private investment
- Officials said government budgets alone cannot meet India’s financing requirements.
- Savings target
- NK Singh called for gross domestic savings to rise to 38-40% of GDP from around 34%.
- Growth requirement
- A 7-8% growth rate was described as necessary to support the Viksit Bharat goal.
- Next steps
- State-participation working groups will identify sectoral financing needs and actionable recommendations.
Quotes
Anuradha Thakur
Economic Affairs Secretary who addressed the conference on private-sector financing.
“We know that we meet today in the backdrop of ongoing global difficulties. Under these circumstances, and because of the scale of transformation we envisage towards ourselves to reach our shared goal, it needs to be borne in mind that this scale cannot be met solely by government budgets, and that private sector financing will need to play a critical role.”
indianexpress.com










