The Office of Chief Adviser Cost, Department of Expenditure (DoE), Ministry of Finance, held a Chintan Shivir from 28th to 30th November 2025 at Manesar, Haryana.  The Shivir brought together the officers of the office of Chief Adviser Cost as well as participants from the State Government of Haryana and Swarna Jayanti Haryana Institute for Fiscal Management, enriching the deliberations with valuable insights from the state public finance ecosystem.

The Shivir kickstarted with an address by Shri Pawan Kumar, Chief Adviser Cost, emphasising the imperative of continuous learning and innovation in contemporary public administration. This was followed by a session on “Heartfulness Communication” by Dr. Gauri Rangra from the Heartfulness Foundation, aimed at fostering empathetic leadership and effective stakeholder engagement.

Day 1 focused on deliberating about two critical themes: development of an International Knowledge Body and standardised costing for municipal services. Later, Shri V. Vualnam, Secretary, DoE, was presented with key contemplations highlighting the persistent challenges and actionable recommendations. Key recommendations included the establishment of a nodal cell under the DoE with a mandate to develop internationally benchmarked costing frameworks and practices including for municipal bodies through engagement with local and global bodies. Shri Vualnam provided strategic guidance and outlined concrete, time-bound steps to address existing challenges and enhance fiscal governance. He also reiterated the Prime Minister's vision of ensuring that young officers, who bring fresh perspectives and dynamism, remain central to future Chintan Shivirs.

Day 2 began with a yoga session, followed by in-depth knowledge sharing sessions in collaboration with Academia were also held as follows:

a. Leveraging emerging technologies like AI/ML to enhance administrative efficiency, analytical rigour and transparency in governance by Shri Rajiv Shorey, Director, IIIT, Surat,

b. Corporate governance principles and stakeholder engagement strategies to foster meaningful collaboration, strengthen accountability, responsiveness and overall effectiveness by Prof. Naveen Sirohi from IICA.

c. Importance of forensic accounting and the need for robust financial vigilance mechanism and early detection systems for irregularities by Prof. Sandeep Goel of MDI Gurgaon

d. The emerging significance of public data and AI as public goods for inclusive development, alongside the design of equitable user-charge frameworks by Prof. Rishabh Aggarwal of ISB Hyderabad.

Subsequent round-table discussions explored user-charges framework and corporate governance and the role of ICoAS in examining equitable pricing models and mechanisms for transparency and inclusive decision-making. Participants presented detailed analyses and theme-wise recommendations.

The concluding day, 30th November featured a workshop on “Professional Evolution and New Growth Avenues” exploring emerging sectors and functional domains where ICoAS officers can drive catalytic change in response to contemporary technological and economic developments. In his concluding remarks, the Chief Adviser Cost commended the officers for their analytical depth, commitment and efforts to strengthen fiscal governance. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Shri Manmohan Sachdeva, Additional Chief Adviser Cost, encouraging officers to stay future-ready in an increasingly dynamic and interconnected world.

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NB/KMN

Chintan Shivir recommended a nodal cell to develop standardised costing frameworks and equitable user charge models for fiscal governance. The Shivir recommended establishing a nodal cell in the Department of Expenditure to develop internationally benchmarked standardised costing frameworks for municipal services and related practices, and proposed time bound steps, ICoAS engagement, and user charges examination to strengthen fiscal governance, transparency and equitable pricing models.