India Convenes Finance Leaders to Fund 2047 Development Goal

Department of Economic Affairs Secretary Anuradha Thakur announced that private sector financing is critical for India to achieve its Viksit Bharat goal of becoming a developed nation by 2047. Speaking at the Conference on Financing India's Journey Towards Viksit Bharat in New Delhi, Thakur stated that the scale of the required transformation cannot be met by government budgets alone.

Organized by the Ministry of Finance, the two-day event brought together state finance ministers, policymakers, and industry leaders to explore financing for energy transition, agricultural transformation, and new-age technology. Thakur cited recent sovereign rating upgrades from agencies including S&P Global Ratings, Morningstar DBRS, and the Japan Credit Rating Agency—which moved India from BBB+ to A-—as evidence of global confidence in the country's macroeconomic stability.

Former 15th Finance Commission chairman NK Singh contributed to the discussions by recommending that India increase its gross domestic savings rate to 38-40% of GDP. Singh also proposed that the GST Council expand the tax framework to include real estate, electricity, and aviation turbine fuel to increase revenue for central and state governments. To support these goals, the Ministry of Finance established working groups with state representatives to identify specific sectoral financing needs.