FM Sitharaman at KEC 2025: India needs 8% GDP growth to reach Viksit Bharat by 2047

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday inaugurated the fourth Kautilya Economic Conclave (KEC 2025) in New Delhi, setting the tone for three days of deliberations under the theme “Seeking Prosperity in Turbulent Times.” The event, held at the Taj Palace, will conclude with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar outlining India’s foreign and economic policy priorities.

At the conclave, Sitharaman said the platform reassured her that “Indian policymaking is guided by good churn at the conclave.” Stressing the need for sustained high growth, she underlined: “If the twin track is ready for us, with 8% GDP, it will give us the path and speed to reach our 2047 destination of Viksit Bharat.”

The Finance Minister described the present global environment as one of deep shifts: “What we face is not a temporary disruption, but a structural transformation. What will the new equilibrium look like and who will shape it, is to be pondered upon.”

She pointed to Asia’s trajectory, noting that “for decades, many Asian nations absorbed the material gains of globalisation without adopting some political values. Today, they are served alternative models of growth and governance.”

Highlighting India’s resilience, Sitharaman said: “India's growth is firmly anchored in its domestic factors, which minimise the impact of external shocks on overall growth. As a result, the Indian economy is resilient, continues to grow sustainably.”

Regarding the challenges ahead, she emphasised that energy transition and energy security present difficult trade-offs for developing nations. She added that innovations such as stablecoins were “transforming the landscape of money and capital influence,” cautioning that nations may face stark choices: “These shifts may force nations to make binary choices—adapt to new monetary architecture or risk exclusion.”

Urging proactive engagement, she said: “We cannot afford to be passive spectators in a world where decisions elsewhere determine our destinies. We must be active participants, shaping outcomes where possible and preserving autonomy where necessary.”

Economist and former Rajya Sabha member N. K. Singh, who initiated the KEC in 2022 under the aegis of IEG, backed Sitharaman’s call for stronger growth. “Happy to share that even in the recalibrated estimates of GDP growth, RBI said that we shall grow at 6.8%. As per the power of compounding, per capita income shall double in the next 10 years. We need to bump up our economic growth to 8% which shall enable the realisation of a developed India,” Singh said.

He outlined structural priorities, saying, “We need to improve the incremental capital ratio, re-dedicate ourselves to stable macroeconomic policy, recognise trade as an engine of growth, and focus on job creation.” Singh also flagged the need for institutional mechanisms to leverage returning talent: “Can we create institutional arrangements which will enable harnessing the people who return to India on account of this new vision, not as a burden, but as a great contributor to rekindling the innate culture of innovation and change.”

Since its launch, the Kautilya Economic Conclave has served as a platform for cross-border dialogue. Previous editions focused on redefining the future (2022), navigating global turbulence (2023), and India’s rising global role (2024). The 2025 edition is set to continue that trajectory, promising solution-driven exchanges with policymakers, economists, and industry leaders.