Shri Subhash Chandra Garg, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India inaugurated the familiarization Workshop on the involvement of Multilateral Agencies in developing the capacity of Finance Departments of the States and Union Territories (UTs). The Workshop was organized at the IMF South Asia Regional Training and Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC) in New Delhi. In his Inaugural Address, Shri Garg hoped that the States/ UTs will have a deeper understanding of the opportunities they can avail from SARTTAC and MDBs while the latter will have sufficient inputs from the States and Union Territories (UTs) to enable them to develop a comprehensive training module for the future.

The Workshop witnessed the participation of Additional Chief Secretaries/ Principal Secretaries of Finance Departments from several States/UTs, senior officers from the Ministry of Finance, and experts from IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) among others.

The workshop was organized with the aim of showcasing the potential of multilateral agencies like IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, AIIB and NDB in developing capacity of states and UTs.

In the workshop, presentations were also made by the Ministry of Finance officials on initiatives taken like the Financial Data Management Centre (FDMC) and rationalization of the stamp duty regime for security market related instruments.

Capacity building through multilateral agency engagement to strengthen state finance departments and shape targeted technical assistance. Capacity development of State and Union Territory finance departments via engagement with multilateral development agencies to align subnational needs with technical assistance offerings. The workshop at IMF SARTTAC brought together senior finance officials and representatives of IMF SARTTAC, World Bank, AIIB and NDB to inform design of comprehensive training modules and highlight initiatives such as the Financial Data Management Centre and stamp duty rationalization for securities-related instruments.